Overview
- The Department of Telecommunications has ordered covered messaging services to keep accounts continuously linked to the active SIM or eSIM associated with the registered Indian mobile number, with platforms required to comply by December 31, 2026 and the rules set to be enforced from January 1, 2027.
- DoT’s original list names WhatsApp, Telegram, Snapchat, Arattai, ShareChat, Josh, JioChat and Signal as covered services, though some reports say Snapchat may be excluded and Signal’s response remains unclear.
- Users who run apps on devices without their registered SIM, use Wi‑Fi‑only tablets, rely on secondary phones, travel frequently, or swap SIMs often may lose access until the registered SIM or eSIM is restored, depending on each platform’s implementation.
- Major vendors and the OS maker have started technical work: Apple added iOS support for SIM checks and WhatsApp/Meta have begun testing SIM‑binding features in India, but platforms have not published uniform rules for eSIMs, multi‑device flows or web/desktop session handling.
- Civil‑liberty groups and industry sources warn of transparency and operational risks, and the policy could shift fraud‑investigation practice and user behaviour as platforms balance stricter verification with convenience and privacy concerns.