Apple has taken action by removing several loan apps from the App Store in India due to user concerns. These apps were found to engage in unethical practices, including posing as financial institutions, charging excessive fees, and using threats to collect repayments.
Reports from users highlighted the presence of certain quick-loan apps, such as White Kash, Pocket Kash, and Golden Kash, in the Top Finance Apps chart. These apps required intrusive access to user data, charged exorbitant fees, and employed deceptive tactics such as claiming “processing fees” that were disproportionate to the loan amount.
Furthermore, users reported being harassed and threatened by these loan apps, with some receiving threats to message their contacts or even create and distribute fake explicit content. Apple took swift action, removing these loan apps from the App Store as they violated the rules and guidelines set by the Apple Developer Program License Agreement.
Apple emphasized its commitment to providing a safe user experience on the App Store and highlighted the significant efforts taken to prevent fraudulent activity. In 2022 alone, the App Store prevented billions of dollars in fraudulent transactions, rejected numerous app submissions that did not meet quality and safety standards, and closed hundreds of thousands of developer accounts associated with suspected fraudulent activity.
This action by Apple follows a similar move by Google earlier this year, when it removed thousands of personal loan apps from the Play Store in India due to policy violations.
