Rumor

India won't force Apple to preinstall its state-run app on iPhone after all

AppleInsider • Fri, 17 Apr 2026

India's government has abandoned its proposal that would require smartphone manufacturers to preinstall the state-owned biometric identification app, Aadhaar, on phones. India drops proposal mandating Apple preinstall national ID app In November, India's Ministry of Communications issued a directive ordering smartphone producers to preload Aadhaar on any phone sold within the country. The order would have affected Apple, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi. According to Reuters , India's IT ministry has since reviewed the proposal and "is not in favour of mandating the pre-installation of the Aadhaar App on smartphones." The ministry said the decision came after it held a "consultation with stakeholders from the electronics industry." Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

What happened?

Story details

India's government has abandoned its proposal that would require smartphone manufacturers to preinstall the state-owned biometric identification app, Aadhaar, on phones.

India drops proposal mandating Apple preinstall national ID app In November, India's Ministry of Communications issued a directive ordering smartphone producers to preload Aadhaar on any phone sold within the country.

The order would have affected Apple, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi.

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