For the millions of Indian corporate employees who treat WhatsApp Web as a permanent fixture on their browser tabs, the days of ‘set it and forget it’ are officially over as the Department of Telecommunications is introducing a new rule to your daily workflow: a mandatory, unskippable logout every six hours.
In a move aimed at tightening the net around cybercriminals, the DoT has ordered over-the-top communication platforms — including WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Snapchat, and Arattai — to implement strict “SIM binding” protocols within 90 days.
The directive, which was issued on Nov. 28 as part of the Telecommunications (Telecom Cyber Security) Rules, 2024, aims to police the rising cases of ‘digital arrests’ and online fraud in the country.
The most disruptive change could come in the form of desktop and web connectivity, with the net mandate making sure that web connectivity linked to a WhatsApp or a Telegram or an Arattai account resets after every six hours.
To regain access, users must re-authenticate by following the necessary protocol, which includes scanning a QR code through the phone.
This ensures that the person using the web session of an account is in actual possession of the SIM linked to that particular account, thereby closing the scope for scammers operating from remote locations.
Meanwhile, for mobile apps, the rules enforce “SIM binding,” a security feature already standard in financial apps like Google Pay or PhonePe.
This technology links the user’s account directly to the physical SIM card in the device. If the SIM is removed or inactive, the messaging app will cease to function.
This could, however, lead to operational hurdles, especially for office employees, international travellers and others. As the 90-day deadline approaches, these OTT apps are likely to be involved in a dialogue with the DoT to sort out these hurdles.
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