There are two ways of purchasing the phone, either get it on a complete down payment or simply get it on credit through EMI’s from a finance creditor like a bank. Earlier this year, Google published a “Device Lock Controller” app on the Google Play Store which allowed the credit providers to stop the functionality of the phones that were financed and the payments were missed. The app was initially launched in the US market where it was a mandate for carriers or first-party stores that were offering finances on the purchase.
The provider can download the creditor’s app and “Disable debugging and user management features” that presumably could be used to circumvent these measures. The app does not restrict users from dialing emergency calls or receiving incoming calls. Meanwhile, the user can access the full Settings app at any time, as well as back up and restore your data. It is still not clear as to whether the app will be pre-installed or will be installed at the time of purchase when the users decide to buy it on credit.
The apps do not have a lot of downloads for now, but it would seem to become a mandate for such financed phones in the future. Also, the apps were introduced in June this year with the last update for the app made available in October. The Phone when locked will allow the users to backup and restore data and user settings as well. However, to unlock other features once again, they will have to clear the missed payments.