Govt scraps Aadhaar app preload for smartphones

The central government has decided not to go ahead with a proposal to require Apple, Samsung and others to pre-install India’s biometric identification app Aadhaar on phones, a state body said on Friday, a move that had been opposed by the smartphone giants.

- Reuters

Reuters reported last month that UIDAI, the state body that operates Aadhaar, asked the IT ministry in January to engage with Apple, Google and other leading smartphone makers to consider mandatory pre-installation of the Aadhaar app.

A unique 12-digit identity number tied to an individual's fingerprints and iris scans, Aadhaar is held by nearly 1.34 billion Indian residents and is widely used for verification purposes in banking and telecom services, as well as for faster airport entry.