Buonasera nexiane, https://www.xda-developers.com/google-device-lock-controller-banks-payments/ --8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8--- [...] Earlier today, we spotted an app on the Google Play Store called “Device Lock Controller” (h/t @JasonBayton). Here’s the app’s description on Google Play: Device Lock Controller enables device management for credit providers. Your provider can remotely restrict access to your device if you don’t make payments. If your device is restricted, basic functionality, such as emergency calling and access to settings, will still be available. The app makes use of Android’s DeviceAdminService API to remotely control device functionality. This is the same API that enterprises use to control what employees can do with their work phones. Companies that distribute phones to their employees typically preload apps that use this API, so there’s no way to disable them. Presumably, a credit provider, such as a bank or other financial institution, can preload Google’s Device Lock Controller app before loaning a device to their customers, and if that customer is unable to make a payment, they can remotely lock them out of their phone. [...] A spokesperson from Google reached out to clarify some details about the Device Lock Controller app. To start with, Google says they launched this app in collaboration with a Kenyan carrier called Safaricom. In a blog post dated July 28, 2020, and titled “Growing access and inclusion with more affordable smartphones “, Google talked about the launch of Safaricom’s new “Lipa Mdogo Mdogo” (“Pay Bit by Bit”) financing plan that allows Kenyans to purchase a new Android Go Edition smartphone in affordable installments. On Safaricom’s FAQ page about this financing plan, the carrier says that they will “lock the device” following 4 days of nonpayment. But what about the app’s quiet appearance on the Google Play Store? Apparently, that was just a mistake. Google has confirmed that the Device Lock Controller app should not be listed on the Google Play Store for users in the U.S., and they will work to take down the listing. We have reached out to Google to clarify if the company has plans to partner with more carriers or financial institutions in the future and will update this article if we hear back. --8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8--- Saluti, Giovanni. -- Giovanni Biscuolo