CENTRE'S CYBER SECURITY MOVE SPARKS CONCERN

The government's decision to mandate the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app on all new smartphones—and to make it non-removable—is a landmark shift. While it empowers users to fight fraud and reclaim lost devices, it also raises the stakes on digital rights and State influence over personal technology. Experts warn that imposing a government app on users, with no option to remove it, bypasses user consent and could open the door to surveillance. No wonder Apple, known for its strict privacy policies, has historically refused to pre-load third-party or government apps. This directive puts it in direct conflict with Indian regulators. Whether one sees it as a guardian angel or a digital watchdog, one thing is clear: our next smartphone will come with the government already inside

- REUTERS

The Telecom Ministry has privately asked smartphone makers to pre-load all new devices with a state-owned cyber security app that cannot be deleted, a government order showed, a move likely to antagonise Apple and privacy advocates.

India is one of the world's largest telephone markets, with more than 1.2 billion subscribers, and government figures show the app, launched in January, has helped recover more than 700,000 lost phones, including 50,000 in October alone.

Apple, which has previously locked horns with the telecoms regulator over development of a government anti-spam mobile app, is among the companies, such as Samsung, Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi bound by the new order.