NextFin News - India’s federal government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is reviewing a telecom industry proposal that could require all smartphone manufacturers to enable always-on Assisted GPS (A-GPS) location tracking on devices sold across the country. The proposal emerged amid growing concerns over the imprecision of current cellular tower-based location data used by law enforcement agencies during investigations. By mandating satellite-assisted location services to remain permanently active—without an option for users to opt-out—the proposal aims to deliver location accuracy to within about one meter, a significant improvement over existing methods.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), representing major telecom carriers such as Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, formally submitted the proposal to the federal IT ministry as of June 2025. This comes shortly after public uproar forced the government to withdraw its earlier mandate requiring the preloading of a state-run cybersecurity app on all smartphones due to privacy fears. Documents, internal emails, and several informed sources reveal that global smartphone manufacturers Apple, Google, and Samsung have fiercely opposed the mandatory always-on tracking policy, citing serious privacy and legal concerns.
The India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), representing both Apple and Google, cautioned in a confidential July 2025 letter to the government that this sweeping tracking measure has no global precedent and constitutes regulatory overreach. The group warned that permanently activated A-GPS tracking is fundamentally a surveillance mechanism never intended for continuous deployment. They stressed that such a mandate would breach user privacy, shatter transparency, and potentially jeopardize the security of sensitive user groups—including military personnel, judges, journalists, and corporate executives.
Amid this backdrop, technology experts have voiced alarm. Junade Ali, a UK-based digital forensics expert, described the measure as effectively converting smartphones into dedicated surveillance devices. Cooper Quintin from the U.S. Electronic Frontier Foundation called it "pretty horrifying," emphasizing that no comparable regulatory framework exists internationally. While governments commonly seek enhanced access to mobile location data, usually via court orders and targeted requests, India's proposed blanket always-on tracking represents an unprecedented approach in democracies.
Currently, India's smartphone market is the second largest globally, boasting over 735 million devices by mid-2025. Google’s Android platform powers more than 95% of these devices, with Apple’s iOS accounting for the remainder. Given this dominance, any regulatory directive mandating always-on location tracking would impact hundreds of millions of users nationwide and pose significant operational challenges for manufacturers and service providers alike.
Telecom operators have also expressed frustration that smartphone operating systems increasingly notify users with pop-up messages when carriers attempt to access location information—potentially tipping off investigation targets. COAI advocates for government intervention to compel phone makers to disable such alerts. Conversely, Apple and Google’s ICEA argue that these transparency features are essential safeguards that uphold user trust and control, and they strongly oppose removing them.
While India’s IT and home ministries continue to deliberate the proposal, no final policy has been adopted, and a high-level meeting with industry executives slated for December 5 was postponed. The fierce resistance from global technology companies, combined with intense public sensitivity to digital privacy, suggests that the government faces a complex balancing act between security objectives and upholding data protection rights.
The proposal must also be considered in the context of global digital surveillance trends. Although some countries, like Russia, require installation of state-supervised apps on phones, the mandate for continuous satellite-based tracking of all smartphones is unparalleled. The potential risks of such a policy include unwarranted state surveillance, abuse of location data, and erosion of consumer privacy protections entrenched under international norms.
Looking ahead, India’s decision will set a critical precedent for the governance of digital privacy in emerging markets with large smartphone user bases. Should the government pursue the mandatory always-on tracking, it could lead to legal challenges, impact the competitive landscape of smartphone sales, and influence other nations contemplating similar surveillance expansions. On the other hand, rejecting or significantly modifying the proposal may reinforce India’s programming towards privacy-conscious technology regulation, aligning more closely with global standards advocated by major international tech firms.
Ultimately, this unfolding regulatory saga reflects the broader tension faced by democracies worldwide: reconciling law enforcement’s demand for enhanced digital surveillance tools with the fundamental right to personal privacy in an interconnected digital age. For India, the world's second-largest smartphone market and a critical node in the global technology ecosystem, the stakes are exceptionally high.
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