India Withdraws Mandatory Plan for Government Anti-Fraud App on Phones

The Indian government has withdrawn a controversial order that would have required new smartphones to come with its anti-fraud mobile application pre-installed. The mandate had sparked significant concern among cybersecurity experts and the technology industry. The now-reversed rule applied to the "Cert-In" app, short for Computer Emergency Response Team-India. Officials designed the app to combat phishing and cyber fraud by alerting users to suspicious calls and messages. Critics argued that forcing manufacturers to install the government app raised serious privacy and security questions. They warned it could create a dangerous precedent for state surveillance and expose sensitive user data. Facing this backlash, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has scrapped the directive. Smartphone companies are no longer required to include the app on devices sold in India, though users may still download it voluntarily.