Airtel, Vodafone-Idea and Reliance Jio congratulate DoT on 90-day ‘SIM deadline’ to WhatsApp, Snapchat, Telegram and others; say was ‘threat’ to National security

Telecom department recently issued a directive that mandated that the user’s subscriber identity module (SIM) used at registration must be bound to the services of web-based platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Arattai, Snapchat, Sharechat and others. According to Department of Telecom (DoT) circular, within 90 days, users will no longer be able to access these apps unless the original SIM is present in the device. This means that messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Snapchat, ShareChat, JioChat, Arattai need to ensure that their services cannot be used unless the user has an active SIM card in their device. Making SIM binding mandatory provides a way to trace activity to a physical subscriber. Under the new rules, apps will now be required to automatically log users out every six hours and ask them to log in again through a QR code, when accessed on a device without SIM card.