Aadhaar Update: The Central Government has temporarily shelved its plan to make the pre-installation of the Aadhaar app on smartphones mandatory. Apple, Samsung, and other companies had raised concerns regarding security, privacy, and costs. Find out the full details.
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Aadhaar Update: The UIDAI and the Central Government have decided, for the time being, not to proceed with the plan to pre-install the Aadhaar app on smartphones. This means that Apple, Samsung, and other smartphone manufacturers will no longer be required to ship their devices with the Aadhaar app pre-installed. Some time ago, reports had emerged suggesting that the government wanted the Aadhaar app to be pre-loaded on smartphones sold in India, with the aim of facilitating user access to services such as identity verification, banking, telecom services, and airport entry.
Aadhaar is one of the most widely used identity documents in India, with approximately 1.34 billion people possessing its unique 12-digit ID number.
According to reports, the UIDAI had requested the Ministry of IT in January to engage with Apple, Google, and other smartphone manufacturers to explore the feasibility of pre-installing the Aadhaar app on phones. However, the Ministry of IT has now declined to approve this proposal.
What would happen if this were to materialize?
It is reported that smartphone manufacturers opposed this proposal. They argued that such a move could compromise device security and software compatibility. Furthermore, companies would have been required to establish separate manufacturing lines specifically for the Indian market, which would have inevitably driven up costs. Apple and Samsung, in particular, voiced concerns regarding security and privacy.
The government, too, acknowledged that it is not essential to pre-install every government application on smartphones. According to a senior official, the Ministry of IT favors the pre-loading of only those apps that are truly indispensable. This implies that, for the time being, users will have to download the Aadhaar app themselves.
Over the past two years, this marked the sixth instance in which the government attempted to mandate the pre-installation of a government app on smartphones; however, on each occasion, the move met with opposition from the industry. This time as well, taking into account the companies’ views and technical concerns, the government decided to back down. This decision comes as a relief to smartphone manufacturers.
