Pre-installed apps might soon become un-installable in India

According to a government document obtained by Reuters, India intends to force smartphone manufacturers to allow the removal of pre-installed apps and to require the screening of major operating system…

By Nivedita Bangari

March 15, 2023

2 min read

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The new rules, the details of which have not previously been reported, could cause delays in the world’s second-largest smartphone market and result in business losses from pre-installed apps for players such as Samsung, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Apple.

According to reports, India’s IT ministry is considering these new rules due to concerns about spying and abuse of user data.

Since a border clash between the two countries in 2020, India has increased its scrutiny of Chinese businesses, banning more than 300 Chinese apps, including TikTok. It has also increased scrutiny of Chinese investments.

Many nations have also imposed restrictions on the use of technology from Chinese firms such as Huawei and Hikvision, fearing that Beijing will use it to spy on foreign citizens. These allegations are denied by China.

Most smartphones now come with pre-installed apps that cannot be removed, such as Xiaomi’s app store GetApps, Samsung’s payment app Samsung Pay mini, and iPhone maker Apple’s browser Safari.

Smartphone manufacturers will be required to provide an uninstall option for the pre-installed apps, and new models will be tested for compliance by a lab authorised by the Bureau of Indian Standards agency. According to report, the government is also considering mandating the screening of every major operating system update before it is rolled out to consumers.

According to the meeting record, representatives from Xiaomi, Samsung, Apple, and Vivo attended the closed-door meeting. The government has decided to give smartphone manufacturers a year to comply once the rule goes into effect, the date of which has yet to be determined, according to the document.

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