Indian Government To Likely Extend SIM-Binding Deadline For WhatsApp, Here Is Why

In a recent development, the Government of India is reportedly extending the deadline for mandatory SIM binding for messaging platforms such as Arattai, Telegram, and WhatsApp. As per the previous directive, the deadline for SIM binding was February 28, 2026. Now, expectations are that the new deadline to be provided by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will be around December 2026. According to a report published by Hindustan Time, the department is planning to update the deadline because the companies have requested the government to give them some more time in order to overcome the technical challenges.Coming to a report, it has been mentioned there that a DoT official told HT, 'We will extend the compliance deadlines as companies have run

into technical challenges, including testing and operating system updates.' The officials also said that the rollout will happen in a phased manner.For those who are still unaware of the thing, the government has notified all the app-based communication platforms to use mobile numbers for user identification to make sure their services remain linked to the SIM card installed on the user's phone. The initial deadline for the update was March 1, and we are already way past it.OnePlus Nord CE 6 Lite Price In India, Camera, Specifications, Features, Launch Timeline, And More, What To Expect Once the same has been implemented, the users will be able to access the account on the platform only if the registered SIM is installed. This step has been taken by the government to restrict the misuse of telecom identifiers for cyber fraud originating from outside the country.For your information, a similar SIM binding mandate is already applicable and being followed by banking and payment applications in India. For linked devices or the web based version of the applications, the directive suggested that the users will be logged out after every six hours and will be supposed to re-login.