Why Indian Army wants its officers to uninstall Truecaller

Indian Army has asked its officers to delete TrueCaller form their phones immediately. The army has clearly stated that TrueCaller is a "spyware" or a "malicious ware".

The advisory dated on November 24 asks army personnel to immediately uninstall TrueCaller from the official as well as personal phones. The advisory also consists a list of 40 apps that should be immediately deleted from phones. Most of these apps are from the Chinese companies. Among all the apps in the list, TrueCaller is the only non-Chinese app that is popularly used in India.

The list of apps and the security advisory is meant as part of the national security apparatus. If the government believes that certain apps are dangerous for its officials, it is probably dangerous for regular users too. The advisory is issued by the Home Ministry to all defense personnel. If the reports are to be believed, there is a threat of a potential cyber attack from Chinese hackers.

Lately, there is a concern regarding the use of Chinese apps in India. The government has recently asked the smartphone manufacturers to explain how they are collecting user data. One of the reasons behind this particular concern over the apps and devices that collect user data is mostly because the servers of these companies are based in China. 

The Swedish company TrueCaller does not send any data to China-based servers. But the app is often criticized for certain privacy issues. When the user installs the app, it asks for phonebook access. The app also collects the data of the calls that you receive and dial. The features like identifying the caller and blocking spam calls/messages are enabled only when the user gives full access to its contacts.

The ban includes a bunch of apps like UC browser, UC news (both are owned by Alibaba), the popular Xiaomi apps like Mi Store, Mi Community, Mi Video Call. Apps like Baidu Translate, Clean Master, QQ Launcher, Viva Video, Beauty Plus, Baidu Maps are also part of the list.

- Rajat Kabade