Govt Mulls Always-On Phone Location Tracking Proposal For Smartphones: Report

Just days after the government withdrew its order mandating pre installation of cyber-safety app Sanchar Saathi on all smartphones, the Central Government is now mulling a fresh proposal that raises surveillance concerns. As per a Reuters report, the government is examining a telecom industry plan to require smartphone makers to enable always-on satellite-based location tracking. 

The plan would force mobile phones to keep assisted GPS (A-GPS) permanently active, allowing authorities to access device-level location data with extreme precision. 

The proposal has been opposed by Apple, Google and Samsung over privacy risks, as per sources and documents cited by the publication.

Industry body India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), which represents Apple and Google, warned the government in a confidential July letter that such a measure has no global precedent. 

ICEA highlighted that such a move could conflict with India’s constitutional privacy rights, data protection laws and telecom regulations. It also warned of privacy and security risks, as tracking might expose movements of sensitive users like military personnel, judges, journalists and executives for leaks or other types of misuse. 

Security agencies have long argued that tower-level location data from telcos is not precise enough for investigations or emergency responses. Telcos, in turn, say they cannot provide more accurate data unless Android and iOS allow always-on A-GPS access for lawful requests.

The report comes immediately after the Sanchar Saathi episode, where smartphone brands were ordered to preload a non-removable government app, only for the mandate to be withdrawn after backlash over surveillance and legality. 

Civil liberties and digital forensics experts warn that meter-level, always-on location access would effectively turn every smartphone into a “dedicated surveillance device”. While A-GPS already offers extreme accuracy, making it permanently available to the state would dramatically lower the friction and visibility of surveillance.

There is also a fight over transparency. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has reportedly pushed for disabling pop-up alerts that inform users when their location is accessed, arguing that such alerts tip off “targets”. Apple and Google counter that these alerts are a basic consent and transparency safeguard. Removing them, they argue, would normalise invisible tracking without user awareness.