In the world of web browsers Opera she always poses as one ethical solutionhowever, the company appears to have used some of the secondary projects for purposes definitely less virtuous. Hinderburg Research has published in the past few days a report in which it reads that Opera is the basis of four Android applications widespread in India, Kenya and Nigeria which are in contrast with the terms of use provided on the Google Play Store.
The accusations not only simply related to the regulations of the Google store, but are very serious: in fact, we are talking not only about misleading descriptions, but also of wear and tear towards users. The apps reported by the research company are specifically CashBean, OKash, OPay and Opesa, which declare in the descriptions of the loan terms convenient and in line with Google's directives for the apps of the category.
The apps claim to offer a maximum annual rate of 33% or less, however the actual rates are much higher: in the case of OPesa, for example, they can also reach 438%. And, even if on the card the duration of the loans are from 91 to 365 days, for some of them the real duration does not exceed 29 days (for example OKash), and often stops at 15 days. Values well below the minimum expected by Google, equal to 60 days.
The conditions also deteriorate for those who fail to make the payment on time. A one-day delay in payments could increase the annual rate even by 876%, and not only. Calls and messages to members of the address book are initiated through the smartphones of the latecomers in the hope that this will push customers to pay. The same smartphones also receive notifications containing threats of legal actions.
According to Hinderbug Opera may have exploited these fraudulent loan apps to tell about economic growth that has not really happened, especially in the main browser activity. The company would then pour millions of dollars on apps and realities owned by its CEO, despite executing questionable business practices. We still don't know if Hinderburg Research's report is true, however if Opera were, it would be in trouble not only in terms of reputation, but also in legal terms.