India is ordering Apple and other phone makers to preinstall a state-owned app

"India's Department of Telecommunications is giving phone manufacturers 90 days to comply with an order to pre-install a state-owned app on new phones and push it to existing phones through software updates, reports . The government order was privately sent out to phone manufacturers on November 28th, according to Reuters, including Apple, Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi. In August, Russia issued a similar order requiring phone manufacturers to preload a state-backed messenger app, Max."

"In this case, the state-owned Sanchar Saathi app is already available on the App Store and Google Play Store, but this order would make it mandatory and prevent it from being disabled or deleted. The app includes features for blocking and tracking lost or stolen phones based on their IMEI, and reporting suspected fraud messages. While iOS users still make up a small slice of the pie in India, Apple's sales in the region hit a record high of $9 billion in September."

India's Department of Telecommunications is giving phone manufacturers 90 days to pre-install the state-owned Sanchar Saathi app on new phones and push it to existing phones. The government order was privately sent on November 28th to major manufacturers. Sanchar Saathi is already available on the App Store and Google Play Store, but the order would make it mandatory and prevent it from being disabled or deleted. The app offers IMEI-based blocking and tracking of lost or stolen phones and tools to report suspected fraud messages. Apple and Google have expanded local device manufacturing and sales in India. Apple and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Read at The Verge