New Delhi: According to a Reuters report, the Indian government may soon require smartphone makers to allow customers to uninstall pre-installed apps. According to Reuters, which cited two sources and a government document, India may soon propose new security rules that would require screening of critical operating system updates.
According to the report, one of the two senior government officials declined to reveal their identities because the information is still classified, with the Indian IT ministry looking into these new rules amid concerns about espionage and misuse of user data. ,ALSO READ: Gautam Adani’s son Jeet Adani gets engaged in a low-key ceremony,
“We want to ensure that no other countries, especially China, are taking advantage of pre-established programs as they could be a weak security point. The issue is one of national security,” the representative said. ,Also read: Layoffs 2023: Facebook parent Meta to cut another 10,000 jobs,
The new rules could lead to a drop in pre-installed app sales for players such as Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo and Apple in the world’s No. 2 smartphone market. There are still some unknowns about the new rules.
Most of the smartphones these days have pre-installed apps which cannot be removed. For example, Apple’s Safari web browser, Xiaomi’s GetApps software store, and Samsung Pay Mini.
The new rules will require smartphone makers to include an uninstall option and get new models assessed for compliance by a lab approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards agency, according to two people with knowledge of the proposal.
One person said that the government is also looking at making it mandatory to roll out every major operating system upgrade before it is released to users.
Most cell phones used in India come with pre-installed apps and bloatware that raise issues of privacy and information security, according to a confidential government document from a February 8 IT ministry meeting seen by Reuters. Let’s pick up
India has blocked over 300 Chinese apps, including TikTok, following a border dispute between the two neighbors in 2020, prompting increased scrutiny of Chinese corporations. Along with this, he has increased the monitoring of the investment of the Chinese company.
According to the report, the Indian government has agreed to give smartphone makers a year to comply once the law comes into force. The document also states that the date is yet to be decided.
The request to remove pre-installed apps from smartphones will not come only from India. While the EU standards call for the ability to remove pre-installed apps, they do not have a compliance screening system, as India is seeking.
,With inputs from Reuters,
