Although bloatware has long been a problem for Android phones, it has undoubtedly improved with time. But, significant action may soon be done in India as part of a purported country plan that targets Android bloatware, ensures secure updates, and more.
According to Reuters, India appears to be preparing new laws and guidelines for domestic smartphone manufacturers targeted at enhancing security. Before being made available to users, “every major operating system upgrade” is subject to vetting.
Additionally, and possibly having a greater impact, are the regulations governing pre-installed apps.
As a result of these new regulations, smartphones sold in India must provide a method to remove pre-installed apps. Currently, it is difficult to uninstall many bloatware programs from the smartphone, whether they are distributed by the manufacturer directly or by partners.
According to a paper, “the majority of smartphones used in India are having pre-installed Apps/Bloatware which creates substantial privacy/information security issue(s).” Indian officials evidently view these apps as a national security danger.
Even while India’s state minister for IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, denied that “security testing” or a “crackdown” on apps are taking place, several smartphone manufacturers, including Vivo, Xiaomi, Samsung, and even Apple, apparently attended a meeting about the new regulations behind closed doors.