US tech giant Apple has decided to bury the hatchet with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India over reporting unsolicited telemarketing calls and messages. Apple is likely to install a Do not Disturb (DND) app in its upcoming version of iOS (iOS 12), which will enable users to report spam calls. The new iOS is expected to be launched next month.
The two have been at loggerheads for nearly a year now on the inclusion of TRAI’s DND app on the iPhone’s app store. According to the regulator, consumers should have a tool to register complaints against unsolicited commercial communication (UCC), it could be through TRAI’s DND app or an app specific to the operating system.
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Apple had earlier said it had refused to include it. The telecom regulator responded by saying that if Apple has to sell iPhones in India, it would have to comply with the existing norms.
Now it is likely to include about 75% of the features that are on the watchdog’s DND app in the new operating system, according to The Economic Times.
TRAI’s recently launched pesky call app – DND 2.0 and MyCall – allows users to flag telemarketing calls and unsolicited messages directly to the regulator. Google’s Android operating system already supports the app. Apple is believed to have resisted listing of the app on its platform citing privacy concerns.
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In a letter dated June 19 to the TRAI, the iPhone maker said it has a new feature in iOS 12 to enhance spam SMS and call reporting. This new capability, the company said, provides developers with the ability to create an app extension that allows users to report both unwanted messages and calls as spam, news reports said.
To report the unsolicited communication, the user will have to enable an Unwanted Communication extension in the Settings app, it added.
However, iOS and Apple’s app store review guidelines still do not allow a mobile app to transmit a customer’s personally-identifiable information and usage history to a third-party automatically, without the user directing that action. Doing so would open the door to users being tracked by third parties without their knowledge and may expose them to harm.
But TRAI defence is that it does not ask for access to all call logs, but rather allows the users to share only details of unsolicited calls or messages.
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