India dropped a proposal to require Apple, Samsung, and others to pre-install its Aadhaar biometric ID app on smartphones after pushback

India's state biometric identity authority UIDAI confirmed it will not pursue a proposal to mandate pre-installation of the Aadhaar app on smartphones after smartphone makers raised security and cost concerns. The proposal, which Reuters reported last month had been submitted to India's IT ministry in January, would have required Apple, Samsung, Google, and other manufacturers to bundle the app on devices sold in India. Aadhaar is a 12-digit biometric ID tied to fingerprints and iris scans held by nearly 1.34 billion Indian residents and used widely for banking, telecom, and airport verification, but has faced criticism from privacy advocates over past data leaks.