India's telecom authority DoT mandates permanent SIM binding for messenger services. WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal must comply within 90 days.

The Indian telecommunications authority, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has instructed eight messenger services to implement a permanent binding to inserted SIM cards. Affected are WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Snapchat, ShareChat, as well as the Indian services Arattai, JioChat, and Josh. According to the directive, the companies must ensure within 90 days that their services can only be used with a physically inserted SIM card.

  • sircac@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    26 minutes ago

    I think that SIM physical presence in the terminal adds just a bit more of difficulty to the main abusers but a lot of pain to the non ones, the apparent bind to univuqous real identity is illusory and fragile, by now we should assume WhatsApp and Telegram as potentially anonymous and spam as a mail account…

  • g8phcon2@k.fe.derate.me
    45·
    6 hours ago

    I have an Indian colleague who told me he was threatened with arrest after a traffic stop for having element and conversations installed on his phone as the cop told him those are used by terrorists and he should just use WhatsApp

    • vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      18·
      5 hours ago

      And that’s the truest, just unpleasant, answer to all the talk about new messenger services and emerging replacements.

      Power doesn’t care about rules. Power does care that you don’t have a way to communicate freely. Power punishes you if you try to find a way.

      Social problems are not solved by technical means. Or, for the sake of correctness, - they are, but those technical means are called weapons of war. To change the balance of power so that your wishes were respected.

    • cryptix@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      3·
      2 hours ago

      Esim is also considered as Sim inserted. During registration apps sent a SMS to mobile number, but with this the device will sent a SMS out to the chat platform. This ensure the number is verified. The message sent will be automated by granting the app SMS privileges. The Sim inserted/loaded will be noted by the app. During app startup it will check if the Sim inserted or loaded as esim is same Sim as before. Then it will work, else a Sim change warning will appear.

      Source: UPI payment apps in India already mandates this approach. They want all other apps to do the same.

      • bdonvr@thelemmy.clubEnglish
        6·
        3 hours ago

        Pretty much all phones still have SIM card slots.

        It’s really mostly North American models that have been releasing with no SIM card slots lately, but they usually release it in other markets with one.

      • bdonvr@thelemmy.clubEnglish
        2·
        3 hours ago

        Pretty much all phones still have SIM card slots.

        It’s really mostly North American models that have been releasing with no SIM card slots lately, but they usually release it in other markets with one.

      • HeyJoe@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        6 hours ago

        I think a bunch still do. I don’t have it because I just purchased the phone with no cell plan. I just use wifi and if I go out I use my work phone Hotspot to provide wifi to my personal. I use Google voice so I have a number and some of those chat apps that my friends use to keep in touch. Im in my 40’s and have never had a cell phone bill still. Outside leaving the house, I honestly cant believe people are paying $60-$100+ dollars a month when you can get everything it does these days off wifi. For the minor inconvenience ive ran into sometimes I still think it’s worth it for the price.

        • Cort@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          3 hours ago

          I just pay 15/month on mint for the lowest plan. Just so I can get directions and basic Internet while I’m out.