India revokes state-run security app order for smartphones after outcry

India revoked its order to smartphone makers on Wednesday to preload a state-run cybersecurity app days after the plan triggered a major backlash from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's opponents and privacy activists over surveillance fears.

The Indian government had confidentially ordered companies including Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi to preload new phones with an app called Sanchar Saathi, or Communication Partner, within 90 days, Reuters was first to report on Monday.

"Government has decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers," India's communications ministry said in a press statement.

The move comes after days of protests from opposition parties over the issue, while newspaper editorials joined privacy advocates in denouncing the move. The government also found itself at odds with phone manufacturers, as Apple and Samsung had plans to not comply with the directive, sources said.

The plan had become a hot issue on Indian prime time news, with politicians and privacy advocates sparring over its pros and cons.

The government had said the app only helps track and block stolen phones and prevents them from being misused.

Earlier on Wednesday, senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a notice to the parliament that the government needed to clarify the legal authority for "mandating a non-removable app" and called for the house to debate privacy and security risks.

"The grave, serious and real apprehension is also that such compulsorily installed app can have a backdoor, thereby absolutely compromising the data and privacy of the user," he added.

Modi's plan had little precedent, according to industry sources. Russia may be the only other known example. Moscow in August ordered that a state-backed messenger application called MAX, a rival to WhatsApp that critics say could be used to track users, must be pre-installed on all mobile phones and tablets.

"The app is secure and purely meant to help citizens from bad actors in the cyber world," the government said in its statement on Wednesday, saying it was taking the decision given the app was finding wide user acceptance anyway.

Data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower showed a 13% jump in daily downloads of the app on Monday from a day earlier, to 78,000.

Modi has faced criticism over issues of privacy before. In 2020, his government came under fire for a COVID-19 contact-tracing app compulsory for use by office workers. That measure was later diluted to a request when privacy advocates protested

Reuters