This was spotted by Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) that warned over 12,000 users across the globe -- 500 of them were from India

This was alarming for government officials as most relied on WhatsApp for communicating -- putting them in cross-hairs of data theft and espionage. This led to the central government to create a messenger for communicating with officials while safeguarding leak of confidential data. 

Authorities call it GIMS or Government Instant Messaging Service. Reported first by Financial Times, it is being developed under the guidance of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The texting app will replace WhatsApp and will be used by officials working in central and state government. 

The team for the development of the messaging app is situated at the National Informatics Centre, Kerela, while MeitY is providing the app with the tech infrastructure it needs. 

In case you were wondering if the app will be available for everyone in India to use, you’ll be happy to know that the app won’t be limited to only government officials -- it is currently being tested in beta phase and will be made available for free on Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store. 

The app will have texting features similar to WhatsApp with the ability to share images, documents etc along with conventional texts. 

The pilot process for testing of GIMS has commenced with 17 government organisations including the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Indian Navy, Indian Railways among several others -- comprising of 6,600 officials and have shared over 20 lakh messages as of now. The app enables communication in not just English, Hindi, but a total of 11 regional languages. 

While we surely cannot vouch for the apps’s security, or that the privacy of your data will be in safe hands -- considering the chats will be in the control of the government -- but it surely makes sense for government officials.