If you have been asking the question: “How to stop loan apps from accessing your contacts”? This article will review and provide direct answers to your question. It’s been a popular question worldwide since the introduction of Fintech loan apps and digital lending platforms. However, the response to this question will be based on a further breakdown of the stages the question relates to. Is it before you download the loan app, after you have downloaded the app on your phone and received a loan from them or after you have deleted and uninstalled the loan app (whether you collected a loan or not?)
I have personally received many calls, messages, and questions both online and offline from loan app customers and borrowers, many of them asking about: How To Stop Loan Apps From Accessing Your Contacts? After doing extensive research and reading across the board, I have therefore decided to address this question and help borrowers from falling victim to fake loan apps.
Permanent Ways to stop loan app from accessing your phone number and sending messages to your contacts
The following are permanent ways to block any loan app fro gaining access to your phone contacts and sending embarassing messing to your list
1. Turn off permissions
When you download and install a loan app, you will usually be asked to grant permission to the loan app to access your contacts. If you accept this, the loan app will have access to all your contacts and therefore can send messages to them, when you default on your loan.
If you want to stop the loan apps from having access to your contacts, you will have to turn off the permissions given to the loan app by following the steps below:
- Navigate to settings on your android or IOS device
- Navigate to apps manager
- Navigate to apps permission
- Select the loan app that you want to deny access to your contacts
- You can then revoke the access
Once you have done the above, the loan application will no longer have permission to access your contacts on your mobile phone.
2. Repay your loan
If you want to prevent loan apps from sending messages to your contact, then you will need to repay your loan before the due date.
When you take a loan, there is usually a set date in which you will need to pay back your loan. Failure to repay the loan will incur additional interest, as well as running the risk of getting defaming messages being sent to your contacts, friends and family.
Always make sure you pay back your loan at the agreed date, and if you know you will not be able to pay back, then don’t take the loan.
3. Patronize only reputable and registered loan apps
Another way to prevent loan apps from accessing your contacts and sending messages and threats to your family and loved ones, is to only use reliable, legitimate and registered loan apps. This is because these loan apps will not result to such shady tactics in order to get you to pay back your loan.
Before taking a loan, you should ensure that the loan app is registered with the central bank of Nigeria and approved by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). This will prevent any risk of defaming messages being sent to your phone contacts.
Some registered loan apps you can take loans from are branch loan app, carbon loan app, renmoney, fairmoney and many more.
However, this doenst mean that you should take loans without the intention of paying back, as failure to repay your loans on these apps, may lead to you being blacklisted and unable to access loans in the future.
4. Uninstall the app
If you want to stop loan apps from accessing your contacts or sending messages to your phone, you may need to unistall and delete the app.
If you have not given the loan app permission to your contacts, you can easily uninstall the app and they will not be able to access your contacts.
If you have already granted them permission, you will have to revoke and disable the permission from your phone settings, before you should delete or uninstall the app.
5. Avoid taking loans
This one is obvious, but it has to be said. If you don’t want these loans apps to send defaming messages to your contacts. Then you should not take loans from them.
When you take loans and fail to repay, these loan apps will send defaming and threatening messages to your contacts, in a bid to get you to repay your outstanding loan.
6. Go to Google Play Store
The first step To stop loan app harassment, you need to go to the Google Play store and download an app called App Lock. It’s a free app that lets you set up passcodes and block phone features. Then open up App Lock and create a new app lock. In that lock, search for a loan. Go through all of those options until you find a tab called Loan Blocking. If there is no such option for App Lock, then click on any of the loan apps (i.e., LendUp, Aimloan, Okash, etc). Once you are in Loan Blocking select Block or just Uninstall it.
Frequently Asked Questions
The following are key questions that usually arise from customers and borrowers of loan apps on how to protect their phone numbers and contacts from lending app invasion.
How Do I Stop Loan Apps From Accessing My Contacts?
The best way to stop loan apps from accessing your contacts is not to download the apps at all. If you already downloaded on your phone, do not borrow money from them thereby not giving them access to your contact list. To deny and disable loan apps permission to access your phone and contact list, do the following:
- Step 1: Go to Settings on your phone.
- Step 2: Open Apps under settings.
- Step 3: Click on Permissions.
- Step 4: Select Contacts under permissions.
- Step 5: Choose the loan app to disable and remove permissions.
How Do I Prevent or Stop Loan Apps from Sending Messages to my contact list?
The best way to stop loan apps from sending messages to your contact is by:
- Not borrowing money from the loan app in the first place. When you don’t patronize them, they won’t have access to your contacts let alone sending messages to them.
- Paying down on any debt you are owing the lending platform. Apps only send threatening and defamatory messages to your contact lists when you don’t pay your dues on time.
How Do I Stop Online Loan Sharks from Accessing My Phone Information and harassing me?
To stop online loan sharks from accessing your information and sending messages to your contacts, follow these steps:
Don’t grant the app permission
First of all, you need to understand that not all apps deserve to get permission to access your information. Some of them should end up just installing them and never giving them access to your private information such as contacts, messages, etc.
Remove Permissions from Settings
If you have granted the app access to your information, that is fine. You can still remove the permissions by going to your phone settings and selecting the app and proceeding to remove the permission. After that, the app would stop having access to your information.
In some cases, these apps might download a copy of your information already into their server (database) and would only take an in-house person to remove them. Endeavor to read the terms of any app you are downloading to know what information they collect from you.
Uninstall the App
Another alternative is to remove the app completely from your phone. If you remove an app from your phone it would stop collecting your information if you already gave it permission.
How Do I Prevent Loan Companies From Accessing My Contacts on Android and iOS Devices?
To prevent loan apps from ever accessing your phone and contact list on your android and iOS devices, do the following:
- Do not download any lending app on your phone.
- Do not approve or collect any loan from the loan apps if you ever downloaded anyone on your phone, (either mistakenly or inadvertently).
- Do not give permission on your phone for any loan app to access your contact list. That essentially means you cannot have access to collect their loans.
- And of course, do not collect any instant loan from a lending platform.
If I accidentally gave permission to a loan app to access my profile information and photo gallery, how do I stop this?
If you are using an Android device and you have mistakenly downloaded a fraudulent app, or If you are indebted to any of the illegal loan platforms, and you are afraid of defamatory messages to your contacts, take the following steps.
Go to settings in your android phone, and click on apps and notifications. Scroll down to app permission and deny them access to your contacts, sms, photo gallery, and storage on your phone, they won’t be able to reach out to your phone contacts anymore or post your pictures and details to social media. They would only have your number and have only you to deal with.
However if you haven’t installed any lending app on your phone, or you have installed but not yet collected a loan from the app, or you are still contemplating on collecting a loan and you haven’t given permission on your phone for the app to access your contacts, then you can very well stop loan apps from accessing your contacts.
How do I block messages from loan apps?
- Go to your messages app. (make sure it is the default / original message app by google.)
- Next, tap the three-dot menu that is at the top right.
- Select block number.
- If you do not see the block number option, continue with the steps below.
- Choose the details option.
- From here, select block and report as spam.
- Tap ‘OK’ to block all messages from this sender in the future.
How Can I Stop Online Loan Harassment in Nigeria?
The best way to report online loan harassment in Nigeria is to report it to the Google Playstore,(Google Play Protect) while the second option is to report such app to an online media platform so the harassment could be publicized and gain awareness and perhaps the government get to see it and take immediate actions.
Are you a victim of online loan harassment, cyberbullying, defamation and threats, character assassination, and other illegal activities of lending apps in Nigeria? Well, you can report such activities to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) by sending an email to lenderstaskforce@fccpc.gov.ng and stating your encounter with the platform.
How to delete my data from a Loan App?
Step 1: Log in to the Loan App. You must log in to the Loan App to begin the removal process. …
Step 2: Access the Configuration Section of the Loan App
Step 3: Uninstall the app
Step 4: Revitalize your device
How do I get loan apps to stop calling my contacts?
Step 1: Go to Settings on your phone.
Step 2: Open Apps under settings.
Step 3: Click on Permissions.
Step 4: Select Contacts under permissions.
Step 5: Choose the loan app to disable and remove permissions.
Conclusion
The loan apps you borrow from uses your contact list as collateral and guarantee in case you default on your repayment. Please note that you may not be able to completely stop loan apps from accessing your contacts, if you already borrowed money from them. Why is this? Because your phone contacts will immediately be downloaded safely on the loan apps’ external database against your name, BVN, and other profile details and even though you later deleted or uninstalled the loan app, it makes no difference. You stand in their mercy.
However, you can prevent the lending apps from perpetually accessing your contacts? You can stop them from further accessing your phone contacts and other details until you have granted permission. How do you get this done?
12 Comments
Am undergoing defamation characters and threat from Supercredit, Loan Personal, GG Money and others. Needs help
Same here, am even scared to take calls from friends and relatives at the moment. I just switched off my phone to avoid further damage on my mental health…. will put it on when am strong enough to face it.
Am undergoing several threat from different loan app and they are becoming so annoying what can i do to stop them
Even me. True naira ND add money are on my neck. I am yet to repay their loan.
ND nw dey are telling me dat dey will call my contacts ND post my picture.
Pls I need help
winter loan has made me naked and due date is tommorrow but today oly from morning calling in wats up or mobile what to do all rude taking and nude picture are in wats up please help me
winter loan has made me naked and due date is tommorrow but today oly from morning calling in wats up or mobile what to do all rude taking and nude picture are in wats up please help me loan app are winter loan Golden rupee max credit
Do not mind whatever messages or threats they send on daily basis. Most of those loaners are fast killers, crooks and real time scammers. Like this eh…. Am owing about 8 of them, but i no dey pay shishi. It’s over 3 months now since overdue and none of them have sent messages to my contacts or post my pictures anywhere. They are even tired of calling me😌😏. If you want to know how I was able to deny them access to my contacts send me a dm on WhatsApp @09151977310
Super credit loan app is not a good loan app and right not i font even know how to handle them
Deloan they share my picture 6hours within the due day and after paying they still share till now how can I report them?
Cashfarm Apk duped me.
Do you want to know how one of there agent, sent me text message that if am wanting to applied for loan in there flat form. I letter follow the link she shares to me, Requesting them of loan of 10,000 naira which I applied for after I applied a number follows me throw WhatsApp asking me if I have received the loan I told her yet to see that, she replied me that they will credit me in 2min,
Hope you are following me, don’t forget that I told you that I requested 10,000 naira in there flat form can you believe that this Cashfarm send me 6,200 naira woo, I letter go back to that number that talks to me on WhatsApp, telling them there are not giving me what I requested for. Woo, she keep silent because they knows they are guilty of there act. After six (6)days a woman calling me, telling that am to pay 10,710 on the seventh day
They could have not wait for my over due time they started sharing an aquising word to all my contact aquising my character
Rapidnaria duped me after repaying my last loan I deleted their app from my phone after like 7 day I saw an alert on my phone that have been credited with d sum of 45430 I was quite surprised so tried to download their app again from playstore I couldn’t find it ,I even went as far as to try and see if I can get their customer care line on Google I couldn’t find any reasonable .so I decided to contact an agent who contacted me when I make a repayment on d last loan I collected before I deleted d app from my phone. Which the agent said he’s going to notify their company about it
Not quite long an agent chatted me up that on WhatsApp that money was auto disbursed into my account 45430 to repay 68970 in seven days that do I want to keep d loan or return it
So I said no that I want to return it
He said he’s going to send the company offline account to refund the money that if I don’t refund the money after 48hr I will have to pay d interest
So I sent d money to him which he said he’s going to upload it to get me cleared
I said ok
7 days later another agent chatted me that I am owning them a loan repayment of 69970
I was shocked and I explained everything to them that have returned the money through their agent who chatted me up from their company I didn’t find it funny at all I send every screenshot of the chat and repayment receipt .I was told that it is a wrong account number I sent d money to that I have to make the loan repayment the have been distrubing me calls
Please what do I do I need help
I can’t pay for a money I never applied for or use
Please help me out on what I should do
Guys, be strong. Na borrow you borrow. You no kill person. Everybody knows that things are tight in Nigeria. See, if any loan app messages your contact, dont ever pay them again. Do you understand? That’s how you should do it.