News|CybercrimeIndia orders phone makers to pre-install state-owned web safety app: ReportDirective gives companies 90 days to ensure Sanchar Saathi app is pre-installed on new mobile phones.

The Indian government has instructed smartphone makers to pre-install a state-owned cybersecurity app on all new devices in a bid to tackle online scams and other crimes, according to reports.

The November 28 order – the existence of which was reported by Reuters news agency and Indian media on Monday, three days after it was privately sent to manufacturers – gives the companies 90 days to ensure that the app, Sanchar Saathi or “communication companion”, is pre-installed on new mobile phones, with a requirement that users cannot disable it.

The directive of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) also requires phone companies to push a software update for installing the app on devices already in circulation, the reports said.

The app, which was released in January, is currently available for download, with India’s 1.2 billion smartphone users having the option to install it.

The government says the app is essential to combat “serious endangerment” of cybersecurity from duplicate or spoofed International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers – the code assigned to each device that is used to cut off network access for phones that are reported stolen.

According to government figures, users have downloaded the app more than five million times since its launch, helping to block more than 3.7 million stolen or lost mobile phones and blocking more than 30 million fraudulent connections, Reuters reported.

In that time, the app has helped recover more than 700,000 lost phones, according to the figures.

But the order is likely to face pushback from US tech giant Apple, which has previously clashed with India’s telecoms regulator over a government antispam mobile app, as well as privacy advocates, Reuters reported.

Apple has internal guidelines against installing any third-party apps – including government-developed ones – prior to the sale of a device, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told the news agency.

Tarun Pathak, a research director at technology market research firm Counterpoint, told Reuters that Apple had previously refused similar requests from governments.

“It’s likely to seek a middle ground: instead of a mandatory pre-install, they might negotiate and ask for an option to nudge users towards installing the app,” Pathak said.

Mishi Choudhary, a lawyer who works on internet advocacy issues, told the agency that the order was concerning, as it “effectively removes user consent as a meaningful choice”.

There was no immediate comment about the reports by the DoT.

The directive follows similar moves by governments, most recently Russia, to crack down on the use of phones for fraud and push state-backed apps.

Based on reporting by Al Jazeera.