Reuters reports that the Indian government has abandoned its plan to mandate pre-installations by Apple and other smartphone manufacturers. Here are the details.

India Steps Back from Controversial Plan

At the end of last year, the Indian government had instructed Apple, Samsung, and other smartphone manufacturers to pre-install a non-deletable government-supported security app called Sanchar Saathi. This raised privacy concerns.

As my colleague Ben Lovejoy pointed out last December:

The government frames this as a way to help users locate lost or stolen phones, but it enables the government to track all phones, which has obvious implications for user privacy.

Shortly after the government announced the requirement would apply to iPhones used in India via an iOS update, Apple stated it would not comply with this request and reiterated its response to similar demands in the past.

Now, Reuters reports that the Indian government has made a "non-progress" decision, noting that the country's IT ministry conducted a "consultation with stakeholders from the electronics industry" before arriving at this decision.

The IT ministry of India reviewed the proposal and UIDAI stated to Reuters that it was "not positive about mandating the pre-installation of the Aadhaar App on smartphones."

Today's decision fits into a broader context. The Indian government has attempted to require smartphone manufacturers to pre-install government apps over the past few years, but these efforts have been unsuccessful. Here is Reuters:

The Aadhaar request marks the sixth time the government has sought to mandate the pre-installation of government apps on phones within two years; this is according to industry communications reviewed by Reuters. All six attempts have been opposed by the industry.

As has been the case from the beginning, Sanchar Saathi continues to be available on the App Store for users who wish to install it, but today's decision removes the requirement for it to be pre-installed on new devices or automatically pushed to iPhones already in use.

Products Worth Checking on Amazon

  • David Pogue – 'Apple: The First 50 Years'
  • MacBook Neo
  • Logitech MX Master 4
  • AirPods Pro 3
  • AirTag (2nd Gen) – 4 Pack
  • Apple Watch Series 11
  • Wireless CarPlay Adapter