Following pushback from a mandate requiring phones in India to come pre-installed with a state-owned, undeletable app, the government is now saying that the app may be deleted if users choose to do so, reports 9to5Mac.
However, as the article notes, this move isn’t likely to change Apple’s refusal to comply with the order. On December 1 The Indian Express reported that India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked smartphone companies in India — including Apple — to preinstall a state-developed, undelete-able cybersecurity application that allows users to report fraudulent calls and messages, and stolen mobile phones. The app is dubbed “Sanchar Saathi.” Smartphone makers have been given three months to adhere to the directive.
Sandbar Saathi is currently available on Apple’s App Store and Google Play, but installing it has been optional so far. A senior government official in India told The Indian Express that the directive is part of a broader strategy to “strengthen cybersecurity and anti-spam measures.”
Quoting three unnamed sources, Reuters said Apple will reportedly tell the government it doesn’t follow such mandates as that of India’s government anywhere in the world as they raise a host of privacy and security issues for the company’s iOS ecosystem.
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Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today
