Feels like: 29°C | Partly Cloudy
India is aggressively escalating its scrutiny of global chat apps, targeting a specific feature that millions of users rely on for privacy.
The Indian government has officially issued notices to messaging giants Telegram and Signal, demanding they explain the safeguards surrounding features that allow users to text without revealing their phone numbers. The move comes just one day after the IT ministry ordered WhatsApp to freeze the rollout of its own upcoming username feature, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
New Delhi argues that the complete anonymity granted by custom usernames opens the door to a massive surge in online fraud, phishing, “digital arrest” scams, and malicious impersonation.
RECOMMENDED STORIES
The clampdown marks a major shift in how Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s government polices the web—moving away from just banning whole applications (like a temporary block placed on Telegram last month) toward micromanaging individual product features.
However, the aggressive strategy has quickly drawn fierce backlash from privacy advocates. The Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital rights group, has called for the immediate withdrawal of the orders, warning that targeting an encrypted app like Signal—which is heavily used by whistleblowers, journalists, and activists—is a direct attack on protected speech.
Tech platforms have routinely clashed with India’s tightening digital laws, which recently slashed the deadline for companies to remove government-flagged content down to just three hours. As it stands, neither Telegram, Signal, nor India’s IT ministry have publicly commented on the latest dispute.
News.Az
News.Az is an Azerbaijani informational-analytical news portal that publishes a wide range of content, including analytical materials, in-depth articles, insightful commentaries, and the latest news.
© 2009-2026 NEWS.AZ | Any use of materials is allowed only if there is a hyperlink to News.Az. All rights are reserved.
Leave a Reply