The Indian government has quickly done a U-turn on its plans to force Apple, Samsung, and other smartphone makers to pre-install an undeletable tracking app on handsets sold in the country.
It took a grand total of 48 hours for Indian officials to decide the idea was not a good idea, in part due to Apple pushing back on the regulations, saying it was refusing to comply with the new rules.
On Tuesday, Mactrast reported Apple would refuse to follow the mandate, which would require it to pre-load the state-run tracking app called “Sanchar Saathi” on all iPhones sold in the Asian country. The app, which has been presented by the Indian government as a way to help smartphone owners recover lost or stolen devices, could also allow the government to track the users’ movements, which would be a huge violation of users’ privacy.
Originally, it was believed the Apple was simply looking to negotiate over the new regs, but the company simply refused to comply with the new government rules.
As reported by The Guardian, India responded to pressure by Apple by immediately backing down on the demand that users not be allowed to delete the app from their devices. However, it was still saying it would require Apple, Samsung, and other phone makers pre-load the app on their smartphones. It also wanted the companies to force the app onto current smartphone owners’ devices via a software update.
Now, the Indian department of telecommunications has confirmed that it has completely canceled the order that would give tech companies 90 days to pre-install the app on smartphones sold in the region.
Online privacy and rights groups applauded the move, with the Internet Freedom Foundation saying “For now, we should treat this as cautious optimism, not closure, until the formal legal direction is published and independently confirmed.”
Indian users can still voluntarily install the Sanchar Saathi app, which is already available in the Indian App Store. The app allows users to report lost or stolen devices and request carriers to block the device’s IMEI number.
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.