India Quietly Orders Smartphone Makers to Preload State Cybersecurity App

We may earn from vendors via affiliate links or sponsorships. This might affect product placement on our site, but not the content of our reviews. See our Terms of Use for details.

India’s telecoms ministry has directed major smartphone makers to pre-install a government cybersecurity application on all new devices and prevent users from deleting it, according to a confidential order reviewed by Reuters.

The move, intended to curb rising cybercrime and phone-related fraud, is likely to inflame long-running tensions with Apple and raise fresh alarms among privacy advocates.

The measure places India among a growing set of governments taking assertive steps to regulate mobile devices by embedding state-backed digital tools. Russia most recently mandated similar requirements, including the August directive that all smartphones come preloaded with MAX, a government-supported messenger service.

The order reflects global anxieties around stolen phones, identity spoofing, and digital fraud, but also ...