Search giant Google announced on Thursday, 11 March, that it will roll out an update next week for its digital wallet platform Google Pay, previously known as Tez, that will allow the company to store the data of its users for monetisation purposes.
This update will give users option to share their transactional data with the company. According to Techcrunch, Google currently uses limited data based on the user’s usage of the app. This will be the first time Google will use transactions for monetary purposes.
These updates will be rolled out only for individual users and not for business accounts. Here is everything you need to know about Google Pay’s new data policy.
What Is The New Policy?
Google has updated its payment app’s policy in India which will allow users to take full control over their transaction data ‘allaying fears of regulators about the potential misuse of data’.
The new policy allows users to choose how their Google Pay data will be used. The latest feature will enable consumers to remove their last ten UPI payments or card transactions if they wish to opt out of Google’s new policy.
“Starting next week, your Google Pay app settings will provide you with more controls to decide how your Google Pay activity is used to personalise features within the app. All users will be asked to choose whether they would like to turn the control on or off as soon as they upgrade to the next version of the Google Pay app,” said Google in a blog post.
What Happens If You Share Your Data?
Users who accept to share their transactional data with Google, will give Google permission to use their data to personalise the app for them.
App personalisation aims to present user experiences that are customised according to their specific needs.
Google won’t sell any user’s data to third parties, informed the company in a statement. The search engine also asserted that transactional history won’t be shared with any other Google products for advertising purposes as well.
What Happens If You Don’t Share Your Data?
Even if the users wish to opt-out from sharing their data, Google Pay account will continue to work just as well. The only difference would be that the app wont be personalised.
Ambarish Kenghe, vice president-product, Google Pay, in a blog post, said: “We know that safety and privacy are paramount for payments products and services, and people want more control and transparency on how their transaction data is used”.
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