{
  "id": 16115645,
  "title": "From Jan 1, WhatsApp, Telegram won’t work without SIM cards, govt issues guidelines",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/from-jan-1-whatsapp-telegram-wont-work-without-sim-cards-govt-issues",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-22T21:06:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/from-jan-1-whatsapp-telegram-wont-work-without-sim-cards-govt-issues-guidelines/articleshow/135127543.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The move is to curb cross-border cyber frauds, phishing, digital arrest scams using Indian mobile numbers and enhance telecom cyber security. Apple has updated iOS with a software patch to help detect when an iPhone is operating without a physical SIM card to abide with the rules. It is learnt Signal has not yet responded to govt notices.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}