NEW YORK, April 18, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Credello: Personal loan apps have been on the rise for the past several years. Even if you've never used one, you can probably imagine how they work. You download one of these apps and then apply for a loan through it.
If you're looking into hardship personal loans, a loan for a new vehicle, a loan for college tuition, etc., this is potentially a convenient way to get approved. In order to get the approval you seek, though, the personal loan app will need to access a great deal of your personal information.
That might worry you, and with good reason. Whether the app approves you for a loan or not, you have no way of knowing whether it will then do something inappropriate with that info.
Google plans to stop personal loan apps from accessing some of your private information, though. That's worth discussing, so let's dive into this topic right now.
You Must Share Some Personal Information
The first thing worth mentioning is that if you download one of the apps and use it to try and secure a personal loan, sharing some personal information with it is mandatory. The app needs that information to determine whether you're a suitable loan candidate.
However, a distinction needs to be made between the information the app needs to decide
whether you're a suitable loan candidate and extraneous personal info that's on your phone. It is this second kind that Google plans to shield the app from accessing and using.
What Information Will Be Off-Limits?
Google plans to block a loan approval app's access to your precise location, call logs, contacts, photos, videos, and external storage. This limitation makes sense if you think about it. What possible legitimate reason could the app have for needing that information to help determine whether you should get a loan or not?
Why This Step is Being Taken
There are also some particular reasons why this step is being taken. In recent years, some loan apps have pulled that personal information and used it for nefarious purposes. They have harassed borrowers and engaged in predatory behavior.
If the person who borrowed money does not pay it back in an expedient fashion, the app gives that personal information to debt collection agencies. These agencies might reach out to the borrower's contacts. They tell friends and family members about the money the person owes in an attempt to get them to speed up payment.
What's worse, they might even manipulate some of the pictures found in that individual's collection to disturb or threaten them. Some of those who have been targeted and harassed have experienced extreme distress because of this treatment.
This is a Crucial Step
Google needed to do something about the predatory and unethical behavior of lending apps. This step can safeguard a lot of the personal information from these apps that they don't need in order to extend offers of personal loans to applicants.
If you're going to use an app of this nature to ask for a personal loan, you should research the one you use before downloading it to your phone.
Look around online and see what kind of feedback this app has. You should probably only use one that you know is connected to a reputable lending entity.
You can also forego using an app to seek a personal loan and visit a lending entity in person. It's more time-consuming, but you can feel confident that none of your personal information that's not needed for the loan application is falling into the wrong hands.
About Credello
Credello is a financial tech company offering a personal finance tool that simplifies financial decisions through personalized, on-demand recommendations — so users can borrow, save, or invest with confidence. Credello believes that finding the right financial product should be as easy and interactive as online shopping, and we are on a mission to make that possible. For more information, please visit https://www.credello.com.
Contact Information:Keyonda Goosby
Public Relations Specialist
[email protected]
(201) 633-2125
Original Source: Credello: Experts Review Changes to Personal Loan Apps Accessing Private Information
