Apple Pressed by India to Pre-Install Government Apps on iPhones

[MacRumors]

Apple and other smartphone makers are being pressed by India to pre-install government-developed apps on devices before sale, echoing a similar 2021 demand from Russia that Apple ultimately complied with.

The request came during a meeting last month where government officials outlined plans for expanding access to state digital services, according to Bloomberg.

The initiative would require manufacturers to include the government's GOV.in app store and related apps on smartphones sold in India. When Apple faced similar requirements in Russia, the company agreed to show users a prompt during device setup to install government-approved apps.

The move was a rare exception to Apple's strict control over pre-installed software, coming some years before a barrage of regulatory demands from the likes of the EU that have since forced Apple to open up its platforms.

Both Apple and Google are showing resistance to India's proposal, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by the media outlet. Google, whose Android operating system powers more than 90% of India's roughly 700 million smartphones, is actively pushing back against the initiative.

During the discussions, government officials explored implementing policy mandates or legal measures to ensure compliance. Beyond pre-installation, they also requested that their apps be available for download outside the company's app stores from third-party sources without triggering "untrusted source" warnings.

The push comes as India seeks greater regulatory control over global tech companies. The situation is particularly complex given India's growing importance to both companies. Apple has significantly expanded iPhone production in India, which now accounts for more than 14% of global output, while Google has plans for major investments in smartphone assembly in the country.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple Pressed by India to Pre-Install Government Apps on iPhones

 

[NapZzz]

that's awful act definitely

 

[DanneP]

I hate Apple for this.

Money > Everything, absolutely everything.

 

[cyanite]

I hate Apple for this.

Money > Everything, absolutely everything.

Money? It's not about money at all, it's about legislation. They have to comply with local legislation or exit the market. What's the alternative you envision? Maybe direct your hate toward the legislation.

 

[gleepskip]

Money? It's not about money at all, it's about legislation. They have to comply with local legislation or exit the market. What's the alternative you envision? Maybe direct your hate toward the legislation.

Money. If Apple want to remain firm on their presumed principle of freedom, they would not sell Apple products in countries who mandate what is likely spyware or propaganda on their devices. Muh shareholders.

 

[jo-1]

what's wrong with an APP that does not have any rights locally? In case Apple is consent with their firewalls between the APPs just exclude this APP from any access and/or remove it and you're done. ( I hope this applicable for this APP )

Otherwise I would buy my iPhone in Pakistan or China and everything is fine again.

 

[akbarali.ch]

They can pre-install on the iPhone. Also, simultaneously release an iOS free from all such apps on apple.com, so we can format and install a fresh iOS from Apple that would be free from all these force-down-the-throat apps.

 

[cyanite]

Money. If Apple want to remain firm on their presumed principle of freedom, they would not sell Apple products in countries who mandate what is likely spyware or propaganda on their devices. Muh shareholders.

There is no indication that these apps can do anything beyond what normal apps can do, so they'd be under the same security model, as far as we know.

If you don't live in India it won't affect you. If you do live in India, you can buy the product or not, which is one more choice than if they exited India.

 

[DanneP]

Money? It's not about money at all, it's about legislation. They have to comply with local legislation or exit the market. What's the alternative you envision? Maybe direct your hate toward the legislation.

Are you serious? 🤕

If enough foreign companies put pressure the leaders they'll have to rethink. India is a big market - yes, but Apple would survive without them. Apple isn't forced to do the wrong thing, they are doing it because they want to earn more money than they already do.

 

[gleepskip]

There is no indication that these apps can do anything beyond what normal apps can do, so they'd be under the same security model, as far as we know.

If you don't live in India it won't affect you. If you do live in India, you can buy the product or not, which is one more choice than if they exited India.

If the apps are of value to Indians to access government information or services, they will install them themselves. Forcing them to be installed does not lead one to believe they are innocuous.

Whether I live in India is irrelevant. I want freedom from government overreach for everyone.

 

[ArPe]

‘also requested that their apps be available for download outside the company's app stores from third-party sources without triggering "untrusted source" warnings.’

Whoever is suggesting these rules is taking millions in bribes from scam call centers and hackers.

 

[d5aqoëp]

Some of the govt apps like VoterID, BHIM, DigiLocker are really good and useful in day today life. But it could just come up as a popup recommendation before setup. No need to shove it down everyone's throat.

 

[Kashifnawaz85]

‘also requested that their apps be available for download outside the company's app stores from third-party sources without triggering "untrusted source" warnings.’

Whoever is suggesting these rules is taking millions in bribes from scam call centers and hackers.

"without triggering "untrusted source" warnings."
That's the real danger. In other words Indian government wants to spy using phones.

 

[cyanite]

If the apps are of value to Indians to access government information or services, they will install them themselves. Forcing them to be installed does not lead one to believe they are innocuous.

You're just speculating here. Even in Russia they apparently don't install themselves. But sure, they could be evil, or they could be nationalistic and so on.

Whether I live in India is irrelevant. I want freedom from government overreach for everyone.

Welcome to the real world, which isn't always the fairytale you want or imagine.

 

[SanderEvers]

Money? It's not about money at all, it's about legislation. They have to comply with local legislation or exit the market. What's the alternative you envision? Maybe direct your hate toward the legislation.

Legislation = Money. Everywhere.

 

[gleepskip]

Welcome to the real world, which isn't always the fairytale you want or imagine.

The world is definitely no fairy tale. The world is sadly riddled with people who care not about the plight of others.

 

[AppliedMicro]

If Apple want to remain firm on their presumed principle of freedom, they would

…allow the „side-loaded“ installation of apps from outside the Apple App Store.

 

[gleepskip]

…allow the „side-loaded“ installation of apps from outside the Apple App Store.

Thus, "presumed"

 

[timber]

Apple will have to comply and India is 10 times Russia (taking the exemple from the news).

It's better they try to work something as good as possible than trying to dither and postpone.

But they will probably go for the lather, after all this isn't China.

 

[Voyageur]

I don't quite understand the discontent, especially among those people who are not affected by this in other countries. In Russia, when you first turn on your iPhone, at the setup stage, it simply offers to install a list of local Russian applications, most of which are actively used by Russian people. For example, local navigation maps, which are incomparably better than Apple maps, which do not work correctly in Russia. If you want, you install them; if you don't want, you don't. At the very least, it's convenient and you don't have to look for them in the App Store yourself later.

 

[gmarm]

Yea... that's not happening

 

[surferfb]

Very bad idea from a very untrustworthy regime and would set a very dangerous precedent. Hope both Apple and Google push back hard on this.

 

[chewbaka]

When do the governments get investigated for their monopoly power?

 

[d5aqoëp]

Very bad idea from a very untrustworthy regime and would set a very dangerous precedent. Hope both Apple and Google push back hard on this.

Brother.. give me an example it's an untrustworthy "regime"? The government was elected last year via a nationwide democratic electoral process. People do trust the government and have a chance to vote out the current party next election if they don't like it. This is not the case for governments in China, Russia, N. Korea and few other countries. Now no country will ever trust one another under any circumstance. But they don't go on calling each other untrustworthy lol.

I do believe that forcing to install all govt apps is a bit excessive bordering bloatware. But 3-4 apps made by the government are genuinely useful in urgent situations.

I will tell MacRumors members what the real problem faced by the Indian government is: Recently there have been lots of scams targeting Indians and especially senior citizens who are made to install government apps for Bank verification purposes. Gullible people install those FAKE GOVT apps (found on iOS and Android app store). These apps intercept OTP (one time password) used for bank to bank money transfers. That is why government wants Apple to show only the "Real" apps mandated by the government and reduce the scams. Yes we Indians also face scams en mass and the money is transferred to neighboring countries quickly making it harder for police to track the real criminals residing outside of India.

Little more to the above story: Criminals who are not Indian nationals, get mobile number and bank account in name of random street beggars or homeless person in need of urgent money. They ask him/her to go to a bank and open new account and give the mobile number and activate net banking, international bank transfers, etc. In return, the beggar/ poor person enjoys Rs. 5000 to Rs 10000 cash per month (or till the period the criminals can milk that account). This account is the one where scam call centers mislead gullible people to transfer their money. When the criminals believe that the amount is sufficient, it's transferred to international bank account in another country. The local police catch the beggar who has zero clue what's going on with his account at the cost of money paid to him per month in cash.

 

[apparatchik]

Some of the govt apps like VoterID, BHIM, DigiLocker are really good and useful in day today life. But it could just come up as a popup recommendation before setup. No need to shove it down everyone's throat.

The current Indian government might be tempted to add a few more apps for “national security” reasons. India has stopped being an imperfect democracy and has become an elective authoritarian regime.