About two weeks ago, Google Play banned updates to our app from the Play Store citing this section of their Policy, here: https://play.google.com/about/privacy-security-deception/use...
We complied. This is how the screen looked before the change: https://imgur.com/a/o4Cvh7F
Here's how it looked after the change: https://imgur.com/a/gHP8BDR
We were approved after the change. However 3 days later, we were removed from the Play Store. So now no one can download our app, or update their app if they have a buggy outdated version.
Despite regular appeals, Google keeps redirecting us to the policy above.
Today I checked how WhatsApp handled user uploads, as it's the same thing we do; sync contacts on each launch(we don't sync when the app is not being used though). Here's how WhatsApp looks: https://vimeo.com/user112475576/review/406480240/9ca7c4e2c1
Can anyone help us with what should we do? With the COVID crisis our users are unable to depend on us for their daily spends. We're are the primary credit card for a lot of them, and not being able to service them now, is making us look bad.
Are you saying you contact the user's contacts to try to get them to pressure the user to pay their bill?
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I read through your TOS and it looks like this is the relevant line:
> In case of default or late payment, GalaxyCard reserves the right to use suitable means to collect dues including electronic and or physical communication to the debtor and the debtor's known contacts
I think this is a digusting practice, and I am not surprised Google is blocking your app. This is nothing like what WhatsApp does - in fact I don't know of any service at all that does this.
We do this to prevent having to file legal cases against the users as those can drag on for very long in India and are a pain for both parties
Edit: And doing so in the hope that they shame or pressure your customers is awful. I agree with ccmcarey upthread: This is disgusting. Stop it.
Why such a weird practice and not simply consider repeated failed payment as a form of cancelation?
Stop using unethical practices. If you use your clients contacts to spam them, to put pressure on your client, then it seems obvious that you have been removed. And this is not the same as what WhatsApp does. Their method is not quite ethical as well, but your method is way below.
If this is truly a humanitarian issue, then then disable the contact harvesting feature
Also the Google page states the following "We don't allow unauthorized publishing or disclosure of people's non-public contacts. " Arguably contacting these people is disclosing they are in a user's contacts. You do seem to breaching Google's policy.
I'm on Google's side here.
- first is compliance with Google's term. Obviously, you don't say that the USER's contact will be contacted when the USER bill is out of time and the USER doesn't pay... so your USER might not have understood that this will be the case. I think that you should be clearer about the consequences of allowing your app to access the USER contact list.
- second, the morality of the app: obviously, some people in occidental (US / europe) countries might find the app principle awful... because we rely more on Justice than peer-to-peer social pressure. But it's more a cultural difference. If the principle is agreed between the people giving and receiving money... why not ? (I guess that the people giving the money is the one requiring the USER to download the app... Am I right ?)
BTW: what happens if the people receving the money desinstall the app ? Or empty its contact list ? Or has no contact ?
If I would like to trick your system, I would fill my contact list with garbage, get the money, spend it, then let you contact these garbage contact... Or do you require contacts to use your app too (forced "net effect") ?
Anyway: nothing common with WhatsApp
I think your misunderstanding the model. You borrow money from this company using this app that harvests your contacts without explicitly stating why. If you don't repay the loan this company starts spamming and harassing your contacts forcing them to pressure you into repaying your loan.
- You are right. We are not doing something out the jurisdiction. The contacts notified are the ones who have agreed to be sent "promotional" messages. So we don't spam these people. We are also working on something to make the loans a "group" loan that will make it a requirement for other people to be "fiscally" responsible for your unpaid loan
We run an algorithm which tries to ascertain that the contacts list is not fake/empty. Uninstalling the app would only prevent us from getting new contacts, and ability to notify you of your pending bills via push notification.
The commonality I was referring to is not having a "Checkbox" before uploading contacts as is required by Play Store.
Could you explain this sentence in more detail please.
We do this to prevent having to file legal cases against the users as those can drag on for very long in India and are a pain for both parties
- On strict business perspective, if your business model and your economic success rely on the ability to apply this policy, your business model has a problem.
- Google and Apple cannot cope with national specificities and their own policies are driven by western ethics and business logic. Do not expect it changes soon...
Maybe you should instead contract with; - a bank that accepts to insure your income even if your are not paid. - and a third party company in charge of recovery
This is section seems relevant. It could be argued that whatsapp's use of a user's contacts is related to directly improving the user experience and functionality of the application itself by adding those of your contacts that have whatsapp installed. Your usecase is not directly related to the functionality of the application.
"This person you know is too poor to pay their credit card bill, can you pressure them into paying it?"
Damn. That's a new level of crazy.
Is it possible to open source the app itself and then distribute via F-Droid?[1]
Can you provide your customers with a direct apk download? Although, you will then need to educate your customers about the "scarey" warnings about doing so. I do not have Google Play Store installed on my phone and it is an annoyance when app developers do not provide a direct apk download.
Initially, from an ease of update point of view, I guess neither option is quite as convenient as the Play Store. However, once you've broken your reliance on Google to distribute your application, you'll never have to deal with such a situation again.
You'll get no sympathy if a private business will remove you from their store.
First, afaik WhatsApp doesn't store your contacts but checks if they're available on WhatsApp.
Second, it most definitely doesn't contact them.
