India drops forced‑preinstall plan

India has dropped a plan that would have required Apple, Samsung and other phone makers to preinstall India’s Aadhaar app on smartphones sold in the country. (thehindu.com) The Unique Identification Authority of India said on Friday, April 17, that the information technology ministry reviewed the proposal and was “not in favour” of a mandate after consulting electronics-industry stakeholders. Reuters reported the decision first. (moneycontrol.com) Aadhaar is India’s national biometric identity system, and its app lets users store and present digital identity details on their phones. The proposal would have made that app arrive preloaded instead of leaving installation to users through an app store. (macrumors.com) The reversal came months after a separate fight over Sanchar Saathi, a state-run security app that India’s telecom ministry moved in December 2025 to force onto new phones within 90 days. That order was withdrawn on December 3, 2025, after opposition from device makers and privacy advocates. (techcrunch.com) Reuters said the Aadhaar request was the sixth time in two years that Indian authorities had sought preinstallation of a government app on phones. Industry communications reviewed by Reuters showed companies opposed all six attempts. (9to5mac.com) Apple had already resisted the earlier Sanchar Saathi order, and Samsung also pushed back on the Aadhaar proposal, according to the Reuters reporting cited by multiple outlets. Companies argued that forced preloads created added costs, security risks and privacy concerns. (news18.com) The clash lands as Apple is expanding manufacturing in India and New Delhi is trying to grow electronics production through incentives and export targets. Reuters reported in March that India produced nearly $60 billion worth of mobile phones in fiscal 2024-25 and wants electronics manufacturing to reach $500 billion by fiscal 2030. (9to5mac.com) For now, India’s government apps remain available as downloads rather than mandatory software built into new devices. That leaves phone makers with the outcome they wanted: no state app installed by default before a customer even turns the device on. (medianama.com)