India’s government is examining a controversial proposal from the telecom industry that would mandate that Apple, Google, and Samsung permanently enable advanced GPS tracking on all devices.
The proposal has triggered significant pushback from tech giants, who argue it represents an unprecedented intrusion into user privacy and security.
The debate comes on the heels of a major government reversal. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi administration was forced to rescind a mandate requiring all smartphone makers to preload a government-run cyber safety app following widespread criticism from privacy advocates and opposition politicians.
That decision highlighted the growing tension between India’s surveillance ambitions and its citizens’ privacy expectations, a conflict now playing out on a new front.
The Technical Push Behind Enhanced Tracking
For years, the Modi administration has expressed frustration with existing location capabilities.
When law enforcement agencies submit legal requests for user location data, telecommunications companies can only provide approximate positions based on cellular tower data, often with errors spanning several meters.
To address this limitation, the Cellular Operators Association of India, which represents companies like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, has proposed requiring smartphone manufacturers to activate A-GPS, which combines satellite signals with cellular data to pinpoint locations with precision to within 1 meter.
The critical issue is the mandate’s scope. Rather than activating location services only when emergency calls or specific applications request them, the proposal would require location services to remain permanently active, with users unable to disable them.
According to documents reviewed by Reuters, Apple, Samsung, and Google have explicitly opposed this requirement, warning it would fundamentally alter how their devices operate.
No government worldwide has mandated device-level location surveillance of this magnitude. The India Cellular & Electronics Association, the lobbying group representing Apple and Google, stated in a confidential July letter to the government that such a measure lacks any global precedent and would constitute “regulatory overreach.”
Technology experts agree. Junade Ali, a digital forensics specialist affiliated with Britain’s Institution of Engineering and Technology, called the proposal particularly alarming, stating it would transform smartphones into “dedicated surveillance devices.”
The tech giants have raised serious concerns about the proposal’s implications for sensitive populations.
Apple and Google’s representatives warned that their user bases include military personnel, judges, corporate executives, and journalists, individuals whose security could be severely compromised by constant location tracking.
This population holds sensitive information, making them potential targets for unauthorized surveillance if location data were exposed or misused.
The telecom operators, meanwhile, have requested that the government disable location-access pop-up notifications that alert users when carriers attempt to access their position data.
They argue these notifications undermine security investigations by warning targets they are being tracked.
Tech companies have countered that such transparency is essential for maintaining user control and privacy protections.
As of early December 2025, India’s IT and home ministries are actively reviewing the telecom industry’s proposal, though no policy decision has been finalized.
A scheduled meeting between the government and smartphone industry executives was postponed, delaying immediate resolution.
The outcome will significantly impact India’s 735 million smartphone users, predominantly running Google’s Android operating system, and may set a precedent for surveillance practices globally.
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