Right on cue, the iOS 12.1 update for iPhone users allows them to download the DND app designed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from the Apple app store.
Apple’s decision to list the app on its platform has been a long-standing debate that had sparked concerns about millions of iPhones in the country getting deactivated.
But it looks like TRAI has the last laugh, and iOS users in the country can finally make use of the DND app, which claims to help with unsolicited calls and messages that can be reported to the telecom regulator as well as operators.
Apple had informed telecom regulator TRAI in August this year that the new version of its operating system already includes a feature that allows users to report unwanted messages and calls as spam.
Few months back, the regulatory body had stated in its new regulations that if Apple doesn’t adhere to its instructions of allowing the TRAI app on the app store, then telecom networks will very soon stop working on iPhones in the country.
Luckily it hasn’t come down to that for the Cupertino-based giant, which has been struggling to increase its market share in the hugely attractive Indian mobile phone market.
RS Sharma, Chairman, TRAI has been vocal with his concerns about the app not getting through on iOS, because of Apple’s insistence on being a data protective ecosystem.
Defending the DND app, Sharma had recently said that it did not ask for access to all call logs, but rather allows the users to share only details of unsolicited calls or messages.
"Unnecessarily, people are given an impression that our app is asking for wholesale permission to access contacts and call logs," Sharma said a few months back.
We’re glad that the tussle between Apple and TRAI has finally come to an end.
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