DoT blocks privacy-friendly phone number app Doosra

It is unclear why Doosra, a firm that sells secondary phone numbers to privacy-conscious users, has been ordered offline

Doosra App. Photo: www.doosra.com

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued an order essentially halting the Doosra app’s operations completely. Doosra sells secondary mobile numbers to users to hand out at shops or online, where providing a number is mandatory, but may leave people open to spam messages or calls. The firm requires users to provide ID to buy a number, just like a conventional telecom firm would.

The ‘virtual mobile number’ app’s founder, Aditya Vuchi, has described the app as useful for customers who are forced to hand over a phone number for making a purchase, or for women who don’t want to hand out contact information to strangers.

Virtual mobile numbers are used by firms like Amazon and Uber, when delivery agents or drivers call customers. Doosra’s product is a virtual SMS inbox that filters out spam messages, while only allowing some incoming calls. 

It is unclear why the DoT has ordered the firm’s operations to stop. A spokesperson for Vodafone Idea Ltd, the telco which provides the mobile numbers and network infrastructure on which Doosra runs, said the hold on Doosra’s services by the telecom department was valid “until further orders.”

Mr. Vuchi refused to comment to The Hindu. On his profile on X, formerly Twitter, he has said that “regulators are focused on understanding the detailed workings of virtual mobile numbers … and map it to the current regulatory framework.” 

Telecommunications is heavily regulated in India by the DoT, which subjects new entrants to stringent regulatory approvals that can take months, or even years. Doosra has a Virtual Network Operator licence, Mr. Vuchi wrote, and the DoT still ordered the service blocked. The department did not return a request for comment from The Hindu in spite of repeated reminders.

For the moment, Mr. Vuchi wrote, users will get a detailed update on December 18, pending ongoing discussions with government officials. “We are confident that [DoT] officials will appreciate the breadth of benefits and if any regulation needs to evolve to guide the industry to a safe and optimal state,” Mr. Vuchi said.