Google cracks down on over 3,500 loan apps in India for violating Play Store policies

Google has taken strict action against over 3,500 digital lending apps listed on its India app marketplace for violating Play Store guidelines. The crackdown came after Google reviewed the erring apps, with some being taken down from the app marketplace.

According to a blog post by Google, “In India, in 2022, we have reviewed and taken necessary enforcement action, including removal of apps, on more than 3,500 personal loan apps for violations of the Play policy requirements. We continue to uplevel our efforts in this area by regularly updating our policies and review processes.”

Google said that overall it prevented 1.43 million policy-violating apps from being published on Google Play banning 173,000 bad accounts preventing over USD 2 billion in fraudulent and abusive transactions in 2022.

The company also announced that it will adopt a more privacy-friendly approach to advertising in 2023. Google will roll out the first Beta for the Privacy Sandbox on Android to a small percentage of Android devices.

“With the Beta, users and developers will be able to experience and evaluate these new solutions in the real world…We’ll continue to work in collaboration with developers, publishers, regulators and more as we navigate the transition to a more private mobile ecosystem,” Google said.

The Privacy Sandbox aims to create technologies that protect people’s privacy online and give companies and developers tools to build digital businesses. The Privacy Sandbox reduces cross-site and cross-app tracking while helping to keep online content and services free for all.

Related Stories:

Google Play Store Declared Illegal Monopoly in Epic Games Lawsuit PUBG replacement ‘Battlegrounds Mobile’ India pre-registrations open on Google Play Store Google Bringing Android Games and Apps to Windows in 2022 Indian PUBG Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGM) banned; disappears from Google Play, Apple Store – The Kashmir Monitor Pin-up Mobile – Casino Apps for Play Slots Online in India Google I/O 2023: Google Bard arrives in India: Features, benefits and challenges Google Changes Office Attendance Policies Google Rolls Out Photomoji Feature for Google Messages Beta