The Union government passed directions on Friday (November 28, 2025) requiring services like WhatsApp to only work if users have the SIM card used to sign up for the service in their device, and to log out web-based chat sessions every six hours. The order, sent directly to messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal, represents a major enlargement of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT)’s exercised jurisdiction, building on groundwork laid by a set of contentious cybersecurity guidelines notified this year.

Government officials have expressed frustration over their inability to track cyber fraudsters who use apps like WhatsApp, which currently only require users to validate their mobile number once, before being able to use the service on a range of devices. “SIM binding,” as the directions put it, would force WhatsApp and other messaging platforms to stop working if the SIM is taken out, and presumably aid in the traceability of cyber frauds operating on WhatsApp — by, in return, adding possible friction to other users. The directions were first reported by tech policy news site MediaNama.

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