The curious case of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) anti-spam app is getting even more interesting.
Now, reports are coming in which states that Apple engineers will now ‘help’ Indian Govt. and TRAI to develop a lighter version of their anti-spam app for iOS.
Does this mean that Indian Govt. is not capable of creating a simple app?
Or this a cease-fire declaration from Apple? Will this on-going war of ego between Indian Govt. and TRAI diffuse now?
Apple: We Will ‘Help’ Indian Govt. To Develop DND App For iOS
An official from TRAI has said to Reuters:
“They (Apple) will help develop an app which, to an extent, can solve the requirements,”
As per reports, the app for iOS which would be now developed with the ‘help’ of Apple engineers, will be a toned down, shallow version of the original TRAI app, which is right now available for Android users.
For instance, the feature to record and track call-logs won’t be available in the iOS version, which is freely available for Android users.
Interestingly, if we read between the lines, then we will find that the new iOS version of the anti-spam app would only support reporting spam text messages, and not spm calls.
This is being done because iOS’s new security features already has this mechanism, but doesn’t have the mechanism to combat spam calls. And it seems Apple is still not ready to go beyond their own, home-built features, even when it comes to countering spam.
Apple vs TRAI: Ego War Is Diffusing Now?
Last year, when TRAI launched their DND app to counter spam, Apple had blocked the same on their App Store, citing security issues.
TRAI was angry, and their Chairman even called Apple as ‘anti-customer’. He had famously said,
“They are anti-consumer and they are really not caring towards their customers who could have been saved from pesky calls and unwanted messages.”
Later, Apple officials flew down to Delhi, and explained the reasons why TRAI’s app was rejected, due to their strict security policies.
As per some observers, this is turning into a war of ego.
Neil Shah from Hong Kong-based technology research firm Counterpoint Research said,
“This has now become more of an ego tussle between Apple and the regulator,”
Some observers are even linking this incident with Apple’s unsuccessful attempt to start manufacturing in India. After Govt. denied their special requests, Apple had to retreat, and re-examine their priorities.
We will keep you updated as we receive more inputs.