Topline
Apple is reportedly refusing to comply with an Indian government order directing all smartphone manufacturers and importers to preload a government-run cyber safety app that cannot be disabled on devices sold in the country, Reuters reported on Tuesday, after news of the directive triggered concerns about privacy and government surveillance.
Apple is set to not comply with the Indian government mandate requiring the installation of a state-run app on all phones.
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Key Facts
In a directive issued on Monday, India’s Ministry of Communications mandated that the government’s “Sanchar Saathi” must be preinstalled on all new smartphones sold in India within 90 days.
The order also requires phonemakers to push a software update to install the app on “devices that have already been manufactured and are in sales channels in India.”
Phonemakers have been ordered to ensure that the government-run app is “readily visible and accessible” to users when they first set up their devices and ensure that its “functionalities are not disabled or restricted.”
According to the directive, phonemakers will need to submit compliance reports on this matter to India’s Department of Telecom within 120 days.
The Sanchaar Saathi app is currently available on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store and it has been downloaded more than 10 million times on Android devices and more than 950,000 times on iPhones.
What Is The Sanchaar Saathi App?
The app’s description on digital storefronts reads: “Sanchar Saathi is a citizen centric initiative of Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to empower mobile subscribers, strengthen their security and increase awareness about citizen centric initiatives.” The government says the app, developed by the DoT, “enables citizens to check [the] genuineness of a mobile handset” using its IMEI number (an identifying number that is meant to be unique for each device) and allows users to report suspected fraud and lost or stolen devices.