NEW DELHI: From Tuesday onwards, mobile phone users in India will receive only approved web links via SMS, as per mandated by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). This regulation, effective from October 1, 2024, requires telecom service providers to ensure that only whitelisted links are transmitted via SMS. The move will reduce the risk of users being directed to malicious websites.
TRAI in August issued a directive, instructing all access providers to block any traffic containing URLs, Android Package Kits (APKs) or over-the-top (OTT) links that have not been whitelisted.
Before the regulatory body enforced the new rule, previously, links in SMS messages could lead to unknown sources, posing threats of financial loss or privacy breaches. Under the new rules, any link received via SMS will be from a verified source, enhancing user security. The initial compliance deadline for telcos was set for September 1, but it has now been extended to October 1, giving operators additional time to implement the necessary changes.
Therefore, it is believed the directive will have some disruption in receiving messages from banking and other services that provide updates via SMS. However, the regulatory body also mentioned that so far, over 3,000 registered senders have complied with this requirement by whitelisting more than 70,000 links.