🔗 Share this article

In a major decision, India's telecommunications authority has confidentially asked mobile phone manufacturers to include all new phones with a government-backed cybersecurity app that is non-removable. This mandate, which has been disclosed, is expected to antagonise major tech firms like Apple and raise questions among consumer watchdogs.

An International Trend in Cybersecurity Policy

To combat a growing wave of cybercrime and phone theft, The Indian authorities is joining governments across the globe. This step echoes comparable measures framed in nations like Russia, which seek to prevent the use of lost phones for scams and encourage official tools.

What Companies Are Bound by the Order?

The latest mandate affects leading smartphone brands operating in the domestic market. These include Apple, which has previously had disagreements with regulators over similar applications, as well as leaders like Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi.

The Fine Print of the Government Mandate

An directive dated 28 November allots phone companies a three-month deadline to guarantee that the government's "Messenger Friend" application is pre-installed on all new devices. A critical stipulation is that owners are prevented from deleting the application.

For devices already in the distribution network, companies are required to deliver the app via system patches. It is important that this directive was not made public and was dispatched selectively to select manufacturers.

Privacy Worries Voiced

However, legal specialists have raised significant apprehensions regarding this decision. A lawyer specialising in technology law said that India's step is a reason to worry.

“The government effectively removes user consent as a meaningful choice,” commented Mishi Choudhary, an expert working on internet advocacy matters.

Digital rights groups had previously condemned a comparable mandate by Russia in August for a state-backed messenger app to be included on phones.

The Scale of the Indian Smartphone Landscape

India, among the world's largest telephone markets, boasts over 1.2 billion mobile users. Government figures indicate that the Sanchar Saathi application, launched in January, has already assisted in recovering over 700,000 lost phones, with an estimated 50,000 recovered in October by itself.

The authorities contends that the tool is vital to tackle the “significant endangerment” of telecom cybersecurity from fake or spoofed IMEI numbers, which facilitate fraud and network abuse.

Apple's Stance

Apple's iOS runs on an estimated 4.5% of the 735 million smartphones in India, with the rest using Android, as per industry analysis. While Apple includes its own first-party applications on its devices, its internal policies are said to ban the inclusion of any government app before the sale of a device.

“Apple has traditionally declined such requests from governments,” noted Tarun Pathak, a analyst at Counterpoint.

“It’s probable to aim for a middle ground: rather than a mandatory pre-install, they might negotiate and propose an alternative to encourage users towards downloading the application.”

Queries for response from Apple, Google, Samsung, and Xiaomi were unresponded. India’s telecoms department also offered no comment.

The Role of the IMEI and the App's Purpose

The IMEI, or International Mobile Equipment Identity, is a 14- to 17-digit number unique to each handset. It is primarily used by operators to disable network access for phones reported as stolen.

The government application is primarily designed to help users block and locate lost or stolen smartphones across all mobile carriers, using a central registry. It also lets them to detect, and terminate, illegal mobile connections.

Notable Usage and Results

With more than 5 million downloads since its launch, the software has already been used to block over 3.7 million missing mobile phones. Furthermore, more than 30 million illegal connections have also been disconnected through its use.

The authorities claims that the tool helps combating digital threats and assists in the locating and disabling of lost or stolen phones, thereby helping police in recovering handsets and preventing cloned devices out of the black market.