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In a significant decision, India's telecoms authority has privately directed mobile phone companies to pre-install all new handsets with a state-owned cybersecurity app that is non-removable. This directive, which has been disclosed, is likely to concern leading technology firms like Apple and raise questions among consumer watchdogs.

A Worldwide Shift in Cybersecurity Policy

To combat a recent surge of digital scams and phone theft, India is aligning with authorities worldwide. This step parallels comparable measures enacted in nations like Russia, which seek to curb the use of lost phones for scams and encourage state-backed service apps.

Which Manufacturers Are Affected by the Order?

The new mandate applies to key smartphone makers active in the Indian market. These include Apple, which has in the past clashed with the telecom authority over comparable applications, as well as leaders like Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi.

The Fine Print of the Government Mandate

An directive dated 28 November provides smartphone manufacturers a 90-day period to guarantee that the government's "Messenger Friend" app is pre-installed on all new handsets. A critical condition is that consumers will not be able to remove the app.

For handsets already in the retail pipeline, manufacturers are instructed to deliver the app via system patches. It is worth mentioning that this order was privately circulated and was communicated in confidence to select manufacturers.

Digital Rights Worries Raised

However, legal specialists have raised major worries regarding this policy. A lawyer specialising in technology issues stated that India's action is a cause for concern.

“The government in essence erodes user consent as a meaningful choice,” said Mishi Choudhary, an expert working on digital advocacy matters.

Digital rights groups had earlier criticised a similar mandate by Russia in August for a state-backed communication app to be pre-installed on phones.

The Scale of the Indian Market

India, one of the world's largest mobile markets, boasts over 1.2 billion mobile users. Government figures reveal that the cybersecurity application, launched in January, has reportedly helped locating over 700,000 stolen phones, with around 50,000 found in October alone.

The government states that the app is crucial to fight the “serious endangerment” of mobile network cybersecurity from cloned or spoofed IMEI numbers, which enable fraud and network misuse.

The Tech Giant's Likely Response

Apple's iOS powers an approximate 4.5% of the 735 million smartphones in India, with the rest using Android, as per market research. While Apple includes its own proprietary apps on its devices, its company guidelines reportedly prohibit the inclusion of any third-party app before the purchase of a device.

“Apple has in the past refused these kinds of mandates from authorities,” commented Tarun Pathak, a research director at Counterpoint.

“It’s expected to aim for a negotiated solution: rather than a mandatory inclusion, they might discuss and propose an option to prompt users towards downloading the application.”

Queries for response from Apple, Google, Samsung, and Xiaomi were unresponded. India’s telecoms ministry also remained silent.

Understanding the IMEI and the App's Purpose

The IMEI, or International Mobile Equipment Identity, is a 14- to 17-digit number assigned to each mobile device. It is primarily used by operators to disable network access for phones flagged as stolen.

The government app is primarily intended to help users track and track missing smartphones across all mobile carriers, using a central database. It also lets them to detect, and block, illegal mobile connections.

Notable Usage and Results

With over 5 million downloads since its inception, the software has already been used to disable more than 3.7 million stolen or lost mobile phones. Moreover, over 30 million illegal connections have also been terminated through its use.

The authorities claims that the tool helps combating digital threats and helps in the locating and disabling of lost or stolen phones, thereby helping police in tracing handsets and preventing cloned devices out of the black market.