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In response to the increasing instances of fraud associated with lending apps, the government has issued an advisory to technology giants Apple and Google, urging them to refrain from onboarding unsafe and illegal applications, said Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, on Saturday.
“Today both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store have many many applications that are used by the Indians. We are tracking one set of applications which are loan applications. We have issued an advisory to both Google and Apple that they must not onboard unsafe applications or illegal applications," Rajeev Chandrashekhar told ANI.
This comes after the rising reports stating that lending apps are harassing their customers for loan repayment.
#WATCH | Delhi: Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar says, "Today both the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store have many many applications that are used by the Indians. We are tracking one set of applications which are loan… pic.twitter.com/28Lyi3XkKC
— ANI (@ANI) September 16, 2023
“It is our government's objective and mission to keep the internet safe and trusted for all 'digital nagriks'...We intend to have the earliest meeting with the RBI to make sure there is a whitelisting that means to make a norm of only allowing permitted loan applications on these two stores”, Rajeev added.
Earlier this year, a spokesperson from Google revealed that the company took stringent actions in 2022, which included the removal of over 3,500 personal loan apps that breached the Play Store's policy guidelines.
To further protect users, Google introduced a fresh policy this year that prevents financial apps, which are involved in offering or aiding in securing loans, from accessing personal photos and contacts stored on the user's phone where these apps are installed.
Moreover, building on the Personal Loan App Declaration initiated in 2022, Google now requires these apps to clearly list the names of all associated banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFCs) in the app description, ensuring transparency and safeguarding users' interests.
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