This pandemic season, with incomes deteriorating, online loan apps have become a major source of lending. Sunil, a techie from Rajendranagar, had borrowed about Rs.70,000 from one such app. On Thursday, he was found dead at his residence weeks after taking the loan.

As per Telangana Today, the techie couldn't repay the loan and borrowed an instant loan from another such app. It's reported that the loanee couldn't take the insult of the loaners calling up his contacts and demanding the repayment of the loans. Since it was an app through which the loan application was processed, giving access to the phone contacts was a necessary condition.

The incident raises questions about both business ethics and privacy issues. Since the contacts didn't give any surety, they were not supposed to be told about Sunil's inability to repay the loan. And having a clause that requires the applicant to part with the phone numbers of his contacts is a breach of privacy.

Recently, a National Herald report said that Chinese loan apps are mushrooming in India. These apps making lendings even though they are not registered with the RBI. They have illegal access to the user's contacts, galleries and messages. They send messages shaming the loanee if they don't pay astronomical interest rates.

Incidents like these highlight the need for strict privacy as well as regulation rules.