In today’s technological debate, few issues generate as much attention as privacy. India has implemented a significant change: incorporate a state applicationthat will remain on iOS and Android phones without the possibility of deleting it. The measure coincides with a stage in which Apple emphasizes its security model more than ever. That crossroads, between the Indian regulatory commitment and the Cupertino company’s approach, may have a key point in this story.
The movement began to take shape with an instruction from the Indian Department of Telecommunications sent privately to the main manufacturers. The document, dated November 28, establishes a period of 90 days for the application Sanchar Saathi appears on all new mobile phones and comes accompanied by another obligation: distribute it through updates to devices that are already in circulation. Telecommunications Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia He announced in an interview with CNBC-TV18 that the public order will be issued “in the coming days.”
A tool against theft and fraud. According to information from the Indian Governmentthe application allows you to block and track lost or stolen mobile phones on all networks in the country, generate traceability if someone tries to activate them and verify the authenticity of the terminal using the IMEI number. It also offers a channel to report international calls that present themselves as national, a practice linked to fraud, among other functions. The Executive defends that these functions facilitate the response to theft and fraud in telecommunications.
From utility to potential control. The rollout of Sanchar Saathi does not come alone. India is also pushing other guidelines that expand the ability to identify users, such as requiring that encrypted services like WhatsApp be associated with the SIM card’s IMSI (International Mobile Subscriber Identity). Combined with a pre-installed and non-uninstallable application, this environment transforms the mobile phone into a device with much greater traceability and represents a significant change in the relationship between citizens and telecommunications networks.
For its part, the iPhone incorporates its own mechanisms designed to make access to data difficult and limit the value of a stolen device. The default encryption, together with the isolation of the Secure Enclavekeeps critical information safe, and the combination of Find My with v aims to prevent the reactivation of the terminal without the owner’s account. Apple complements this model with measures such as Advanced Data Protection, Face IDamong others.
Between the Indian regulatory framework and its global strategy: India’s growing importance to Apple, both as a manufacturing hub and an expanding market, comes with a more interventionist regulatory environment. The China precedent shows that the company has had to adapt services and functions when local regulations required it, including the iCloud data transfer to infrastructures controlled by a state partner and the removal of VPN apps.
The scenario presented by India confronts two different models of understanding digital security: one based on a mandatory integrated state application and another based on internal functions of the device that depend on the user’s control. Apple has not yet expressed how it will respond to this demand, but its growing industrial presence in India, a country where it manufactures more and more iPhones, it will possibly make any decision not go unnoticed.
Images | Apple
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