Google is banning Android apps offering personal loans from accessing users’ sensitive data, such as photos and contacts.
From the end of May, Google Play apps providing personal loans will not be allowed to access the handset’s external storage, photos and videos, contacts, precise location and call logs.
According to TechCrunch, there have been multiple reports of debt collectors using information such as contacts to harass borrowers.
In a policy update, Google states: “For the purposes of this policy, we consider financial products and services to be those related to the management or investment of money and cryptocurrencies, including personalized advice.
“If your app contains or promotes financial products and services, you must comply with state and local regulations for any region or country that your app targets – for example, include specific disclosures required by local law.”
In Kenya, Google removed hundreds of loan apps from the Play Store, while in India, more than 2000 apps had to be taken down following alerts from law enforcement and central banks.
Ghana – DatesCash
In Ghana several personal loan apps continue to extract private information from users. A typical example is an app called DatesCash, which operates from Nigeria into Ghana.
At the point of signing on to the app you are informed of all the private information they will extract from you phone once you sign on. If you refused to agree to the breach of your privacy they will stop you from signing on.
DatesCash also imposes loans on users of the app once you sign on. For instance, when you sign on, even without requesting for a loan, the send an initial GHS65 into your wallet and then ask you to repay with 35% initial interest within one week. The percentage of interest keep rising until you refund the money.
One such DatesCash user, Aluizah Amasaba had a bill of GHS116 to refund to DatesCash at the time of him realizing they had deposited GHS65 into his wallet without him requesting to a loan.
The Bank of Ghana and the Cybersecurity Center of Ghana have both issued a number of public notices in the past warning the public to desist from these loan apps which are not licenses to operate in Ghana and whose policies violate the banking rules of the country.
The Central Bank for instance, listed a number of such illegal app and warned Ghanaians to steer clear of same.
Some the the illegal loan apps hide behind all kinds of pseudo names and they get connected to licensed payment services providers (PSPs) as merchants, so the PSPs are often unable to tell that those pseudo names are actually linked to the illegal loan apps.
But the Bank of Ghana had had reason to penalize some PSPs in the past with cash fines for failing to do due diligence on the merchants they sign on.
It is not clear which PSP’s payment gateway DatesCash for instance uses, but they keep doing business from Nigeria into Ghana.
