India’s proposal to encourage smartphone makers to pre-install the Aadhaar identification app on new devices has met resistance from major technology companies and industry representatives.
According to industry correspondence, the government asked firms including Apple, Samsung and Google to consider adding the updated Aadhaar app to phones before sale. The app is tied to India’s national biometric identity system, which is widely used for verification across banking, telecom and other services.
Industry group MAIT opposed the idea, arguing that mandatory or semi-mandatory pre-installation would increase manufacturing complexity, raise costs and create separate production requirements for the Indian market. Companies also raised concerns about security, usability and the broader principle of requiring government apps to come preloaded on consumer devices.
The dispute adds to a wider debate in India over the government’s push to place public-service apps directly on smartphones. Privacy advocates have also criticized the Aadhaar system in the past over concerns linked to personal data protection.
It remains unclear whether the proposal will move forward, but the episode shows continued tension between New Delhi and global smartphone makers over control of the mobile software environment.
