India wants Apple, Samsung, Google and Xiaomi to do the unthinkable. So far, they're resisting

Alright, who had "The world's most populous country will want full access to your phone?" in the 2026 lottery? As if things weren't surreal enough already, India has reportedly floated this idea: companies that make smartphones should give the government access to the source code.

It's because of security reasons, a detailed Reuters report reads.

Good intentions

The plan is part of Prime Minister Modi's effort to make user data safer as online fraud and hacks grow in India, which has about 750 million smartphones – one of the most important phone markets in the world.

Officials said talks with tech companies are still early and any concerns from the industry will be considered. The IT ministry said the discussions aim to create strong rules for mobile security while understanding the challenges companies face.

It also denied reports that it plans to ask for smartphone source code, without commenting on the claim Reuters makes.

Not so fast

Nothing is yet official and Apple, Samsung, Google and Xiaomi – represented by the Indian industry group MAIT – did not comment publicly.

MAIT, however, has allegedly told the Indian government that this is "not possible", so there's an opposition already.

This isn't a surprise, given that phone makers try to keep their source code to themselves. Apple refused China's requests for it in the 2014–2016 period, and US authorities have also failed to get it.

India's plan would require phone companies to do a full security check and then allow test labs in India to review their source code to verify it. Industry group MAIT said this is impossible because of privacy and secrecy, noting that most other major countries do not require this. MAIT has asked the government to drop the idea.

The proposals would also require phones to run automatic, regular malware scans and force companies to inform the National Centre for Communication Security about major updates and security fixes before users get them. MAIT said frequent malware scans would drain the phone's battery life and needing government approval for updates is impractical.

India also wants phones to store a full year of system activity logs, but MAIT said most devices don't have enough space to hold that much data.