The backlash that American cross-platform centralized messaging app, Whatsapp, received for its recent policy, has had people avoid using the app, especially for exchanging confidential or sensitive information. Weeks after a large amount of whatsapp users moved to Signal messenger, influenced by world’s richest man, Elon Musk’s tweet, now the Government of India has started using their own messaging app.
The platform is developed by the government’s technology department, National Informatics Center (NIC). The app’s called ‘Sandes’ and presently it is available only to government officials for use. The shift also has something to do with the recent tweets from global celebrities in support of the farmer’s protest. PM Narendra Modi, speaking in the Rajya Sabha session on Monday, said that the country needs to be careful about the “foreign destructive ideology”, taking a dig at the tweets by American Popstar Rihanna, Swedish activist Greta Thundberg etc.
The ‘Sandes’ app is not available on google play store or apple store at the moment. The government officials are the only ones allowed to use the app right now and it is not open for public use yet, though it will soon be made public, according to a Business Standard Report.
