WhatsApp, Social Media Exempted, Says Government After Encryption Controversy

Advertisement
By Gadgets 360 Staff | Updated: 22 September 2015 12:25 IST
WhatsApp, Social Media Exempted, Says Government After Encryption Controversy

Hours After NDTV reported that how you use WhatsApp and other communication services on your phone could change dramatically, the government has said that a proposal under review will not apply to social media. Here is your 10-point cheatsheet to this big story:

  1. The clarification from the government comes after public outrage over what was posted online as a draft proposal of a new national encryption policy.

  2. When you send a WhatsApp message, it's automatically encrypted or turned into scrambled text, which is then unscrambled for the person you're messaging.

  3. In the case of WhatsApp and other services like Apple's iMessage, this encryption happens automatically using keys at both ends of the conversation - as a user, you don't need to do anything.

    Advertisement
  4. The language of the proposal thrown open to the public for feedback alarmed alarmed experts, not least because it said that users must be able to provide unscrambled or plain text messages for up to 90 days (see the original document here).

  5. The draft from a department of the IT Ministry also stated this: "Service Providers located within and outside India, using encryption technology for providing any type of services in India must enter into an agreement with the Government for providing such services in India."

    Advertisement
  6. This language was loose enough to apply to apps and services like WhatsApp, which has over 70 million users in India, and iMessage. After a backlash online, the government said that social media, Internet banking and e-commerce are exempt from the new guidelines being discussed.

  7. For other categories, if the proposal goes through, platforms or services that don't register how they encrypt messages in India could be declared illegal.

    Advertisement
  8. Businesses that don't involve "mass use encryption products" (Internet banking, social media and e-commerce, for example) are also expected to maintain encrypted and plaintext (unscrambled) copies of all their communication, and share their encryption keys with the government authorities when asked.

  9. In 2010, the UPA government said it would ban BBM (Blackberry Messenger Service) in India unless BlackBerry (then Research in Motion) gave security agencies access to snoop on emails. The two would eventually reach an arrangement that allows the government to intercept messages sent on Blackberry's platform.

  10. You can share feedback on the proposed national encryption policy by emailing akrishnan@deity.gov.in.

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. OTT Releases This Week: Mandala Murders, Ronth, Rangeen, and More
  2. Redmi Note 14 SE 5G to Launch in India on July 28 With These Features
  3. Realme 15 Pro 5G Launched in India Alongside Realme 15 5G: Price, Features
  4. Vivo T4R 5G Key Features Revealed; to Launch in India on This Date
  5. Apple Releases iOS 26 Public Beta Update: How to Install, Eligible Models
  6. OpenAI's Next Frontier AI Model Could Be Released Next Month
  7. These Motorola Phones Will Get Android 16 as Their Final OS Update
  8. Infinix Smart 10 India Launch Today: All You Need to Know
  1. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Tipped to Offer a Higher Capacity Battery and Faster Charging
  2. macOS 26, iPadOS 26 and watchOS 26 Public Betas Released With Liquid Glass Design and New Features
  3. Amazon Great Freedom Festival 2025 Sale Date Announced; Prime Members to Get Early Access
  4. Goo.gl Links Shortened Using Google URL Shortener to Stop Working from August 25
  5. Infinix Smart 10 Launched in India With 5,000mAh Battery, Infinix AI Features
  6. OpenAI’s GPT-5 AI Model to Be Released in August, to Get Mini and Nano Variants: Report
  7. Samsung Galaxy Tab S11, Galaxy S11 Ultra and Galaxy S10 Lite Allegedly Certified in Korea; Live Images Leaked
  8. Google Pixel Watch 4 Said to Get New Charging System, Colour Options Leaked
  9. Google Rolls Out Android Canary 2507 Update for Pixel With Experimental New Features
  10. iOS 26 Public Beta With Liquid Glass UI and More Changes Rolling Out: Eligible Models, How to Install
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.