As expected, Apple will refuse a follow a mandate from the Indian government that would force them to pre-install “Sanchar Saathi,” a government security app on smartphones sold in the region.
Government officials have quietly mandated that the app be pre-loaded on new smartphones sold in India, and the app will be made uninstallable. Existing smartphone owners won’t be left out of the fun, as the government has also instructed companies like Apple and Samsung to push the app to all devices via a software update.
The companies have 90 days to comply with the new regulation.
However, Reuters reports that its inside sources tell it that Apple will refuse to comply with the mandate, and will tell the government that it will not install the app on iPhones sold in the region, due to the associated risks to users’ privacy and security.
“It’s not only like taking a sledgehammer, this is like a double-barrel gun,” said the first source.
Apple and the Indian telecom ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
It is likely that Apple will eventually be compelled to install the app to be allowed to continue to sell the iPhone in the region. (India is not only a growing market for the iPhone, Apple also assembles an ever-increasing number of the devices in the country.) However, it is good to see the Cupertino firm pushing back on the directive.
Indian iPhone users can already voluntarily install the Sanchar Saathi app from the Indian App Store. The app is promoted as a way to report lost or stolen devices, and to spur carriers to block the wayward device’s IMEI number. The app can also be used to report scammers who make fraudulent phone calls.
The Indian government claims the app will help fight the theft of smartphones, as well as the cloning or spoofing of IMEI numbers onto stolen handsets.
However, the main opposition political party says the mandate is unconstitutional, and is merely a way for the ruling party to get their claws into India’s more than 730 million smartphones.
