India has directed smartphone manufacturers to pre-install a government-run cybersecurity app that cannot be removed, sparking surveillance concerns and a political uproar in one of the world's largest handset markets.
The Ministry of Communications' order, issued Monday, asked smartphone makers, including Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi, to preload their phones with the government's "Sanchar Saathi" app on all new devices within 90 days and to prevent users from deleting it.
The order also requires manufacturers to push the app onto older models through a software update, extending the mandate beyond phones available in the market.
The ministry said the app, which is available to India's 1.2 billion smartphone users, was essential in "curbing misuse of telecom resources for cyber frauds and ensuring telecom cyber security."
But Prime Minister Narendra Modi's political opponents and privacy advocates criticized the move, saying it is a way for the government to gain access to India's 730 million smartphones and marks an effort to erode user privacy and consent.
"This is the beginning. It is government testing the waters," said Nikhil Pahwa, a digital policy expert and founder of the tech site MediaNama. "Once a government app is forcibly pre-installed on our devices, what's to stop them from pushing future apps that could be used for surveillance?"
Amid growing criticism, India's telecom minister, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, on Tuesday called the app a "voluntary and democratic system" and said users can choose to activate it and "easily delete it from their phone at any time."
Scindia did not clarify Monday's directive instructing smartphone manufacturers to ensure the app's "functionalities are not disabled or restricted."
The Sanchar Saathi app, which was released in January, was designed to let users block and track lost or stolen phones and to identify and shut down fraudulent mobile connections. Since its launch, it has drawn more than 5 million downloads and helped recover more than 700,000 lost devices, according to government data.
Pahwa said the main concern is that the app's role could eventually expand, giving authorities greater ability to "access device status." He said the order also removes user consent as a choice.
"Phones are our personal spaces. We have a choice to have what we want on them. Here, the government is taking away that choice," he said.
The order quickly faced resistance from Apple, whose internal policies prohibit the pre-installation of third-party apps on its devices, including those developed by governments.
The company does not plan to comply with the directive and will convey its concerns to New Delhi, three sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
Apple will tell the government it does not follow such mandates anywhere in the world as they raise a host of privacy and security issues for the company's iOS ecosystem, said two of the industry sources who are familiar with the company's concerns. They declined to be named publicly as the company's strategy is private.
"Its not only like taking a sledgehammer, this is like a double-barrel gun," said the first source.
Apple and the telecom ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
While Apple tightly controls its App Store and proprietary iOS software – which are crucial to its $100-billion-per-year services business – Google's Android is open-sourced, allowing manufacturers like Samsung and Xiaomi greater leeway to modify their software.
The second source said Apple does not plan to go to court or take a public stand, but it will tell the government it cannot follow the order because of security vulnerabilities.
Apple "can't do this. Period," the person said.
The app order comes as Apple is locked in a court fight with an Indian watchdog over the nation's antitrust penalty law. Apple has said it risks facing a fine of up to $38 billion in a case.
Other brands, including Samsung, are reviewing the order, said a fourth industry source who is familiar with the matter.
Sources have said the government moved forward with the order without industry consultation.
The move also comes as several governments take similar steps.
In Russia, authorities have recently promoted the MAX messaging service, which must be pre-installed on all smartphones. Critics say the platform functions as a surveillance tool, noting that MAX openly states it will provide user data to officials upon request.
The order caused a furore both inside and outside India's parliament on Tuesday, with a number of lawmakers accusing the government of introducing an app that would act as a snooping tool. Rahul Gandhi of India's main opposition Congress Party said he planned to speak about the app in parliament.
The Congress Party has called for a rollback of the mandate. On the social media platform X, KC Venugopal, a top Congress leader, said, "Big Brother cannot watch us."
The Modi government's press release said the app can help tackle incidents of duplicated or spoofed IMEI numbers, which enable scams and network misuse.
"India has big second-hand mobile device market," the telecom ministry said in a statement late on Monday. "Cases have also been observed where stolen or blacklisted devices are being re-sold."
