What is BharOS, a privacy-focused Indian operating system for smartphones; Check out the unique features
Developed by IIT Madras, BharOS is a native mobile operating system designed to reduce dependence on foreign operating software for mobile phones.
For years, the smartphone market has been dominated by Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. Although these operating systems are very advanced, their use also comes with certain limitations imposed by their respective parent companies. Recently, Apple has been criticized for not allowing users to download apps from third-party sources and creating a monopoly in the market. Google is facing similar accusations. But now, things may be changing. Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT) has developed an Indian operating system called BharOS that focuses on privacy and security. The developers claim that it will work exactly like Android or iOS but also give users more control over their device. Check out its unique features.
Ministry of India Education Reveal the operating system through its official Twitter account. It tweeted on January 19, “Open the way for Atmanirbhar Bharat! Natively built #Atmanirbhar mobile operating system, “BharOS” was released today. The operating system has been developed by @iitmadras incubator J and K Ops Pvt. Limited”.
BharOS – Natively Developed Mobile Operating System
BharOS is a government funded project that aims to create a free and open source operating system that can be used by both the government as well as the public. Focusing on privacy and security, it also wants to reduce its reliance on foreign operating systems in smartphones. BharOS also highlights a big step towards locally developed technology and building a self-reliant nation.
One of its key features is ‘No Default Applications’ (NDA). Unlike Android and iOS smartphones, which come pre-installed with default apps from Google and Apple (which cannot be uninstalled), BharOS will not have such apps. Users can customize their experience by installing the apps they want and removing the ones they don’t want to keep.
It is built on Linux, and the developers claim that it will give the operating system a use case in a variety of smartphones, as well as desktops and laptops in the future. The interesting thing is operating system comes with DuckDuckGo and Signal apps for browsing and messaging.
Currently, BharOS is under development and it is not intended for general users. It should also be noted that currently, there are no devices with this operating system pre-installed and the only way for users to use it is to root their device, which will immediately void the warranty. yours for most smartphones.
It remains to be seen whether the developers will team up with a smartphone manufacturer to bring it to market. Also, the frequency of feature and security updates will be something to watch out for.
