2K lending apps removed from PlayStore by Google

New Delhi: Since January 2022, Google has banned more than 2,000 loan-related apps from the Android Play Store because they did not adhere to the company's policies. Saikat Mitra, senior director and head of trust and safety at Google Asia-Pacific, stated, "These two thousand apps were from India's play store. If the app doesn't meet our goal or it doesn't meet our policy, we are going to act on it".

Mitra added that the business gathers the data independently, assesses it, and then compiles it from offline, outside sources. This information can contain specifics like incidents of consumer harassment caused by phone calls made by these instant loan services, according to NIE.

Google was compelled to intervene after reports of instant loan apps in mobile app stores started to circulate. These apps typically target those from low-income groups by providing loans between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000.

They impose a high-interest rate of up to 50% annually. According to an estimate from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), there were more than 1,100 of these apps available for Android users in India across 80 app stores (till last year). 600 of these apps, according to RBI, were illegitimate. Over 300 of them are allegedly under investigation by ED.