Google removes Indian loan apps violating user safety policies from Play Store

Tech giant Google on Thursday said it has removed personal loan apps from its Play Store for violating its safety policies.

Google said it has reviewed hundreds of personal loan apps in India that were flagged by users and government agencies and those found to be violating its user safety policies were immediately removed from its Play Store.

Google has asked developers of the remaining identified apps to demonstrate that they comply with applicable local laws and regulations, failing which those apps will also be removed.

However, Google did not disclose the names of the apps removed.

"Providing a safe and secure experience across Google's products is our top priority. Our global product policies are designed and implemented with this goal in mind, and we are always working to improve our practices to enhance user safety," Google said in a blogpost.

"We have reviewed hundreds of personal loan apps in India, based on flags submitted by users and government agencies. The apps that were found to violate our user safety policies were immediately removed from the store, and we have asked the developers of the remaining identified apps to demonstrate that they comply with applicable local laws and regulations," the blogpost said.

All developers on its Play Store agree to the terms of the Google Play Developer Distribution Agreement, which stipulates that apps must adhere to applicable rules and laws, including generally accepted practices and guidelines, Google said.

Apps that fail to do so will be removed without further notice; and in addition, Google will continue to assist the law enforcement agencies in their investigation of this issue, it added.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday announced the setting up of a working group to suggest regulatory measures to promote orderly growth of digital lending amid rising incidents of harassment relating to online lending.

It had also noted that the recent spurt and popularity of online lending platforms/mobile lending apps has raised certain serious concerns that have wider systemic implications. Last month, the RBI had cautioned the public not to fall prey to the growing number of unauthorised digital lending platforms and mobile apps.

The company said developers must only request permissions that are necessary to implement current features or services and that they should not use permissions that give access to the user or device data for undisclosed, unimplemented, or disallowed features or purposes.