India Drops Plan to Require Apple to Pre-Install Aadhaar App on iPhones [Report]

India has dropped a proposal that would have required Apple and other smartphone makers to pre-install its national Aadhaar identification app on all devices, following industry pushback over security and production concerns.



The state body operating the Aadhaar system, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), confirmed to Reuters that the IT ministry reviewed the plan and is not in favour of making the app a mandatory preload. Aadhaar is a digital identity system tied to fingerprints and iris scans for nearly 1.34 billion residents. The app is widely used across the country for banking, telecom verification, and expedited airport entry.


Apple and Samsung raised concerns regarding device security and software compatibility when the proposal surfaced earlier this year. Manufacturers also pointed to higher production costs, noting that a mandate could require separate manufacturing lines for domestic and export markets. This is a particularly sensitive issue for Apple, which now produces roughly 25 percent of all its iPhones in the country and relies heavily on Indian facilities for global distribution.

The UIDAI said the IT ministry held consultations with electronics industry stakeholders before ultimately deciding to drop the requirement. No specific reason for the reversal was provided in the official statement, though industry opposition had been widely documented.

This marks the sixth time in two years the government has attempted to mandate pre-installed state software on mobile devices, all of which met resistance from the tech sector. Late last year, officials dropped an order that would have required a cyber safety app after Apple and others moved to resist the mandate. The repeated friction highlights the balancing act for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration as it pushes domestic digital initiatives while also courting Apple to expand India's role as a global smartphone hub.

While the government maintains the Aadhaar platform is secure, privacy advocates have frequently criticized the system following data leaks where the personal details of millions of users appeared online. Apar Gupta, founder of the Internet Freedom Foundation, welcomed the reversal and suggested similar proposals should be reconsidered, noting that citizens view their phones as extensions of personal autonomy rather than platforms for mandated software. A senior Indian official later confirmed that the IT ministry is generally not supportive of forcing app installations unless the software is considered strictly essential.