Indian army raises alarm over use of messenger apps that store data abroad

Cross-platform messaging apps born outside India are gaining traction and how. The biggest example is China’s WeChat, which is picking up users all over the world now, and is hot in India too, with tons of localised promotions running around the app’s many features. However, not everyone is happy with the rise of the messenger app, certainly not the Indian army.   According to DNA, the army has raised an alarm over personnel and their families using apps like WeChat to stay in touch with each other. The army has also warned that the apps could be used by neighbouring China to snoop in on sensitive conversation.   In a top secret internal communications sent out to all military commanders, the Director General of Military Operations has asked all army personnel and their families to restrict the use of apps that have data servers outside India. Using them to chat and exchange messages could lead to “inadvertent loss of sensitive information” the memo reads.   The note, accessed by the publication goes on to add, “Every internet company and telecom operator in China, both foreign and domestic, is held legally liable for all content shared through their platforms.” It also says that applications like WeChat, Weibo, QQ can be considered as Chinese equivalents of the likes of WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook, and could pose a potent threat in the light of the tightly regulated Internet and telecom in the country.   WeChat was released in India officially last year in May, after months of soft-launch tests. The app itself arrived two years before the India launch, and back then it was known as Wiexin. It was rebranded as WeChat in 2012 by developer Tencent Holdings and is promoted by Ibibo in India.   Back in December, it was revealed that seven months after its launch in the country, it was already being ranked as the  **second most downloaded app on iOS** . WeChat had become the top non-gaming app in India, beaten only by Temple Run in the general list.   The app’s popularity has understandably alarmed the Indian army. The note also cited a study conducted by the University of California in 2013 which showed that WeChat’s code, “though intended to be private, was left public”. The note reads, “In January 2013, it was revealed that WeChat’s international messages were being censored too. This clearly indicates that all data, even of Indian users, shared through WeChat may be monitored or regulated by Chinese authorities.”   Some of the army’s fears include the fact that the location-sharing feature of the app may be used to track and target personnel, especially those involved in fields of science, industry research, defence and other government sectors.