Truecaller says its inclusion in the list of 89 apps banned by Indian Army 'unfair and unjust'

Days after the Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps in the country, the Indian Army has reportedly asked its personnel to delete 89 apps, including Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, and Twitter from their phones.

The army personnel have been warned of a strict action unless they remove these apps by 15 July. The move is to allegedly "plug leakage of information".

Truecaller has responded to this move saying that it's "disappointing and saddening" that it's in the list of apps banned by the forces. In a statement, the company spokesperson says that Truecaller "remains safe to use", and that its inclusion in the list is "unfair and unjust" and it aims to investigate the same.

Below is the full statement from the company spokesperson:

It is disappointing and saddening to learn that Truecaller is among the list of 89 apps being banned by the Indian Armed Forces for their personnel. Truecaller is an app of Swedish origin that considers India it's home. We also have immense respect for the Armed Forces and we stand in solidarity with them and the Indian government. We would like to reiterate that Truecaller remains safe to use, both for our citizens and for our esteemed armed forces personnel. We see no reason for Truecaller to be on this list and will investigate the matter further.Truecaller provides a vital service for over 170 million people in India, identifying and blocking hundreds of millions of spam calls and SMS every single day. Our inclusion in this list is unfair and unjust for the following reasons:-

1 - Truecaller stores all user data in India, well ahead of regulations
2 - All app features are permission-based & disabled by default
3 - A majority of Truecaller employees globally are Indian
4 - Truecaller does not upload phonebooks or sell user data 
5 - For women facing harassment, fraudsters who try to steal your money & for those facing a barrage of incessant spam - Truecaller is often the first and only effective line of defence.

The Army personnel have also been asked to delete some dating apps but they are allowed to use some social media sites and messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, YouTube and Twitter, according to an India Today report.

Indian Army has asked its personnel to delete 89 apps from their smartphones including Facebook, TikTok, Truecaller and Instagram to plug leakage of information: Indian Army Sources pic.twitter.com/l23Lu5ndNh

— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2020

The tweet above carries the list of all apps that have reportedly been banned by the Indian Army.

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