India Drops Mandatory Aadhaar App Pre-installation

India's India===Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has decided against mandating the pre-installation of the Aadhaar biometric identification app on smartphones, a proposal initially put forth by the India===Aadhaar (UIDAI). This decision comes after significant opposition from major smartphone manufacturers, including Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics, and Alphabet Inc., who raised concerns about device security, compatibility, and potential increases in production costs due to the need for separate manufacturing lines for India and export markets. The government's move is seen as a response to industry feedback and a demonstration of regulatory restraint, aiming to balance its digital initiatives with the interests of global technology firms. Privacy advocates, such as Apar Gupta of the Internet Freedom Foundation, have welcomed the decision, citing concerns over data leaks and the lack of legislative foundation for such mandates.