Saikat Mitra, Vice President and Head of Trust and Safety for Asia-Pacific at Google explains why the company finds it difficult to control bad loan apps.
“The reason it took us a while to handle loan apps was that they were not putting malware on people’s phones, nor did they have harmful content on the app. Instead, there were bad business practices that occurred in the real world,” explains Saikat Mitra, Vice President and Head of Trust and Safety for Asia-Pacific at Google. He notes that figuring out “bad business practices” is the most difficult part when the company approves an app.
Mitra says when developers submit an app and want to get listed on the Google Play Store, it’s a long process. The company rejects an app at the code level if it is found suspicious, but it also looks at other aspects like content safety. “There are probably a few different ways of looking at it: does this app have malware? Is it going to steal my data? Is it going to block my keystrokes? We actually feel very good about that, and that’s something we’ve invested tremendously over the years,” Mitra explained to indianexpress.com in an interview.
While Mitra says they have a system in place where every app has to go through it and comply with Play Store rules, for approving loan apps, they went the extra mile to keep users free from scams and malware.
“Earlier, it took an internet connection, a laptop or device, and $25. That’s all you needed because we didn’t really have policies in the country on who can and who cannot. But now, there has been a significant change. We worked with RBI and the regulators collaboratively over the last two years, and we’re really happy with where we are today,” he says.
According to new government rules, loan apps are now required to show their lending licence to be approved on Google Play Store, meaning they either have to be affiliated to a bank or NBFC which is licensed by RBI. Loan apps are still not licensed in India.
“If you want to put out a loan app, you have to first partner with somebody who is licensed by RBI. You have to convince them to update their website to include your app. We actually receive requests. The next step is to submit your app. There are a bunch of actual requirements, such as lending policies and a minimum duration for return. Alongside other technicalities, like whether you are giving permanent disclosure for access to data.”
“One of the biggest changes that Google has made is that we basically stated that if you are a loan app, you cannot have access to contacts, access to images and data on the device.” As of now, as Mitra clarifies, the Google Play Store has “200 loan apps that have been vetted, verified, and are partnered with an NBFC.” Previously, Google had 4000 loan apps listed on the Play Store.
Mitra recommends users to download apps only from the Play Store to be safe from poor-quality user experiences, scams, and malware.
“Our ability to do anything on a sideloaded app is very limited. We don’t encourage people to download sideloaded apps,” he adds. Sideloading apps is a method that allows you to install and use applications that you can’t find through the Google Play Store. There’s always a possibility that people download apps from unverified sources, and in that case, Google has little to do.
“We are doing a pilot with the Singapore government where they actually want to reach a point where they asked us to block sideloading apps with pervasive permissions. Similarly, the Government of Indonesia has asked us to partner with them. Sideloading apps is a problem. There’s no control. It’s a wild west.”
In recent years, as India became more digitally savvy, digital lending practices also picked up, creating a digital lending infrastructure. That’s when hundreds of loan apps – mostly illegal – started populating app stores, especially on Google’s Play Store. These apps feed off the desperation of users, mostly students and small shopkeepers from tier-2 and 3 cities of India, looking for short-term financial aid. However, the habit of taking loans from instant loan apps led to abuse, financial frauds, harassment, and, in some cases, suicides.
“You can always advertise a loan app as long as you’re advertising a legitimate app that’s in the Play store. I don’t think there is anything harmful or wrong in that,” Mitra says when asked if loan apps should be advertised on Google properties like Search. “No law says you cannot advertise loan apps.”
Source:indianexpress.com