The government has blocked 348 apps for allegedly collecting user information and transmitting it in an unauthorised manner to servers outside the country, Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Rajeev Chandrasekhar informed the Parliament.
In response to a Lok Sabha question, Chandrasekhar stated, “The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has identified 348 mobile applications that were collecting users’ information and transmitting it in an unauthorised manner to servers located outside the country for profiling.” Profiling refers to information gathered by businesses that can be used to explicitly identify a user. User profiles, also known as a person’s “digital representation,” are widely criticised for invading a person’s privacy in order to provide tailored ad services.