Is it possible for a customer or borrower to stop loan apps from accessing their phone contacts after such customer or borrower have already downloaded their app and patronized their lendingservices? And then you later uninstalled the app? Put in another way, how can you stop loan applications from accessing your phone contacts? If that is what is running in your mind, then read along as I take you through specific steps to take to avoid the intrusion of lending applications in this digital age.
The ability of securing instant loan within minutes just after a few clicks on a loan app or a digital lending platform, and particularly without collateral or any form of documentation made these lending apps and online banks a darling of many people. It’s a not just a great excitement but a revolutionary innovation to know that you can access instant cash of say N50,000 or N100,000 at the corner of your room within a few clicks on your mobile phone without visiting any bank and without any physical correspondence.
What many borrowers didn’t know, however, was that the hundreds or thousands of contacts discreetly stored on their mobile phones whether Android or Apple was the ultimate collateral in case of default for the various loans they have accessed.
How To Stop Loan Apps From Accessing Your Phone Contacts After You Have Borrowed Money From Them?
The truth is that your contacts “safely stored in your mobile phone” which you used in downloading the loan app and securing the lending from the app platform, is actually “your collateral and guarantee for loan repayment.” If you want to apply for a loan and you do not have any contact in your phone, lending apps in Nigeria may not approve your request.
If I accidentally gave permission to an app to access my contacts and messages, how do I undo this?
If you are using an Android device and you have mistakenly downloaded a fraudulent or fake loan app, then this is for you.
If you are indebted to any of those illegal loan platforms, and you are afraid of defamatory messages to your contacts.
Please kindly go to settings in your android phone, click on app & notifications. Scroll down to app permission and deny them access to your contacts, sms, photo gallery and storages on your phone, they won’t be able to reach out to your contacts anymore or post your pictures.
They would only have your number and have only you to deal with.
See below how a customer by name Isaac Ojo Obisesan was grossly humiliated by a loan app in Nigeria for defaulting his repayment as at when due. What collateral could have been more than this for any digital lending platform? Isn’t this enough to force repayment by a defaulter if only to avoid the gross shame, ridicule and defamation associated by a phony loan app all out to secure its loan disbursement?
So in essence and in simple answer to the question raised in this article, you cannot stop loan apps from accessing your phone contacts, after you have borrowed money from them. Your phone contacts will immediately be downloaded safely on the loan app’s external database against your name, BVN and other profile details and even though youn later delete or uninstall the loan app, it makes no difference. You stand in their mercy.
But you can still stop them from further accessing your phone contacts and other details you have granted permission to. To do this, simply scroll down to app permission and stop loan apps from accessing your contacts, sms, photo gallery and storages on your phone, they won’t be able to reach out to your contacts anymore or post your pictures. They would only have your number and have only you to deal with.
It could be a business partner, your customer or your client base, or even your family members, your loved ones and group members including hundreds and thousands of other people a person/customer would not want to get humiliated or threatened in their presence (because of loan default), but this, was the ultimate card the loan apps in Nigeria counted on to get repaid in case you defaulted. Their weapons are your actually your humiliation, defamation, threats and shaming, and the lending apps do these to you and to all your valued contacts including your family members to get paid back their loan.
Your only guarantee or tool to prevent or stop loan apps from accessing your phone contacts is to not download their apps on your phone and to not collect their loan. You already signed in and “approved your contacts for their database” once you hit loan approved on your phone.
LCredit Has Become Notorious For Blackmailing Borrowers
Recently an LCredit customer who lives and works in Lagos, Foluke Abosede Tijani (not real names) has lamented that the now known notorious digital lending app should stop blackmailing borrowers. She wants the Federal Government to stop loan apps from accessing your phone contacts.
According to Foluke who just sent her message to QUICK LOAN ARENA says he received a blackmail and threat message from the digital loan app today about a loan that has just fallen due within 24 hours.
The customer who has just lost her job is lamenting the threat from LCredit digital lending platform and calling on Nigerian government to prevail on quick loan apps and platforms to be ethical and stop blackmailing borrowers, urging them to play according to the rule and be fair to their customers who are going through hard and harsh times.
She isn’t denying the loan but said it just fell due and she just lost her job and need a few days to redeem it.
Can You Stop Loan Apps From Accessing Your Phone Contacts?
The simple answer to this question is a NO! Provided you have once downloaded the loan app and have collected a loan from the platform. You can no longer stop the loan app from accessing your phone contact because it is already safely stored in the app’s external database. Even though you later uninstall the app, it is still with them. The best you can do is stop collecting their loan and repay any outsanding loan to avoid any further harrassment, threat or blackmail.
To Prevent loan apps from accessing your phone contacts or calling your contacts and family members, do the following:
- Don’t download any loan app on your phone.
- If you have already downloaded a loan app, don’t approve or collect any loan from the platform.
- If you have already collected a loan from the platform, delete and uninstall the app immedialy from your phone and do not reinstall or collect any further loan from the credit platform.
- Only download and patronize reputable loan apps that will not send shame or defamatory messages to your contacts, even if they have your phone contact access.Can a loan app access my contacts if uninstalled?
- A loan app cannot access your contact list if you already uninstalled the app from your phone. However it’s likely your contacts have been downloaded and stored in the app’s database outside your phone if you ever collected a loan from them. To stop loamn apps from accessing your phone contacts again, safely uninstall the app and do not patronize them anymore.
Can loan apps come to my house?
A loan app cannot come to your house. However if you already downloaded their app and collected their loan, they can access your contact list, databases, BVN, profile details and can report you to the credit bureau and blacklist your name against your BVN if you default on your loan. To stop loan apps from accessing your phone contacts again, safely uninstall the app and do not patronize them anymore.
How do I stop messages from loan apps?
To stop messages from digital lenders or stop loan apps from accessing your phone contacts again, safely uninstall the app and do not patronize them anymore. Also if you are owing any outstanding loan, pay down and let the app be aware that you have paid your loan to update your records.
How to stop a loan app from accessing your contact?
- Don’t download any loan app on your phone.
- If you have already downloaded a loan app, don’t approve or collect any loan from the platform. If you have already collected a loan from the platform, pay back any outsanding balance, delete and uninstall the app immedialy from your phone and do not reinstall or collect any further loan from the credit platform.
- Only download and patronize reputable loan apps that will not send shame or defamatory messages to your contacts, even if they have your phone contact access.
Can Denying Loan Apps Permission Stop Them From Calling or Messaging Your Contacts?
YES. Once you deny a loan app permission to access your contact list, you automatically stop them from accessing, calling or messaging your contacts. However if you deny any lending platform permission from accessing your contact, your loan will NOT be approved and you won’t get any funding from the loan app. So you have to decide on which one is more important to you.
How Do I Prevent Fake Loan Apps Like Sokoloan, LCredit and others From Calling Or Messaging My Contacts?
To stop loan apps from accessing your phone contacts generally or specifically stop scam platforms like Sokoloan or LCredit from messaging your list, do not download their apps on your phone. Do not approve or collect any loan from them. Do not give them permission on your phone to access your contacts. That essentially means you cannot have access to collect their loans.
