India has rejected the requirement to preinstall a government app on mobile devices

India’s government rejects mandatory pre‑installation of the Aadhaar app on smartphones

The Indian government has decided not to implement a plan that would require major mobile device manufacturers—Apple, Samsung and others—to pre‑install the national identity system’s Aadhaar application on all new devices supplied to the country. According to sources, the leading smartphone brands expressed dissatisfaction with the proposal.

What happened
1. UIDAI request

At the beginning of the year, the state organization UIDAI (the body that manages Aadhaar) sent a request to the Ministry of Information Technology asking for mandatory pre‑installation of the app on all new devices supplied in the country.

2. Ministry review

The ministry studied the proposal and rejected it. A UIDAI representative announced the decision but did not specify reasons. The Minister of Information Technology declined to comment.

3. Industry consultations

According to UIDAI, before making a decision the ministry held “consultations with stakeholders.” This is the sixth time in two years that the government has tried to introduce mandatory pre‑installation of Aadhaar; all attempts have met resistance from manufacturers.

Why the industry resists
- Security and compatibility – Apple and Samsung fear potential vulnerabilities and impacts on device performance.

- Production costs – companies would need separate assembly lines for India, increasing expenses.

- Privacy concerns – Aadhaar has repeatedly been subject to data leaks and criticism from users.

What is Aadhaar
Aadhaar is a unique 12‑digit number linked to fingerprints and an iris scan. About 1.34 billion Indians have such an identifier, which is widely used for verifying transactions in banking, telecommunications, and at airport registrations.

Conclusion
Indian authorities claim the Aadhaar app is secure, but frequent data leaks continue to raise concerns. Until the government changes its position, major smartphone manufacturers maintain their opposition to mandatory pre‑installation of the app.