Apple reportedly refuses to preinstall controversial Indian state-run cyber security app | Infinium-tech
Yesterday it emerged that the Indian government was asking smartphone makers to preload a state-owned cyber security app called Sanchar Sathi on every new device they sell. Its purpose is to track stolen phones, block them and prevent them from being misused.
Companies apparently have 90 days to comply, but according to a reuters Report, Apple won’t do this. The Cupertino company reportedly intends to decline orders to install the app on its iPhones.
It will reportedly tell the Indian government not to pursue such orders in any markets because they “raise privacy and security issues for the company’s iOS ecosystem”, according to “two industry sources” familiar with Apple’s concerns.
The app has come under fire in India, with the country’s telecom minister saying it is a “voluntary and democratic” system and that users can choose to disable it and “easily remove it from their phones at any time”, although a November 28 government directive ordered smartphone makers to start preloading it and ensure that “its functionalities are not disabled or restricted”.
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