The Indian Army is known for many things, but one is its strict restrictions on social media use by its soldiers. However, after almost half a decade of a blanket ban, the Indian Army has taken a cautious yet notable step into the digital age.
Soldiers can now access digital platforms such as Instagram and WhatsApp, which is a big departure from the Army’s previous rules; however, they can only do so under tightly controlled conditions designed to protect national security.
The Army, as per reports, believes that in today’s digital age, keeping its soldiers away from it might be more harmful than useful. But it is not as if Indian soldiers can just start making reels and posting ‘a day in the life’ content on social media.
The Army’s revised policy allows personnel to observe, not participate, ensuring that sensitive information, operational details, and military identities remain shielded from public exposure.
What Has The Indian Army Changed?
The Indian Army’s revised social media policy marks a significant shift from its earlier blanket ban on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
While soldiers were previously discouraged or outright prohibited from using most social media apps, the new framework introduces the concept of “passive participation.”
This means personnel can access certain platforms, but their activity is strictly limited.
The Directorate General of Military Intelligence (DGMI) issued the amended policy with immediate effect and reversed the blanket ban imposed in July 2020 that demanded all officers and soldiers to delete their Facebook and Instagram accounts, along with 89 other applications.
The ban was brought about due to increased cybersecurity risks, where Pakistan’s ISI used honey-trap operations to extract sensitive information, along with concerns about Chinese links of some of the apps, like TikTok.
However, the Indian army appears to be shifting its approach to social media and the digital space. Under the amended social media policy, Indian army personnel are allowed a limited digital usage, with most social media platforms only to be used in ‘view only’ mode.
As per reports, soldiers are now allowed to be on Instagram; however, it’s only for “purposes of viewing and monitoring”.
Indian soldiers still cannot make posts, comments, share, react or send messages on the platform. According to an Army Headquarters order quoted by The Hindu, “No comments or views will be communicated on Instagram.”
Further, as per an official “exchange of unclassified information of a general nature or content” is permissible on Skype, WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal, “But information or content can be exchanged only with known persons. The responsibility for correctly identifying the recipients will lie with the users.”
For YouTube, X, Quora and Instagram, the order describes it as “passive participation” where “Uploading of user-generated content or messages is not permitted. LinkedIn can be used only for uploading a resume and obtaining information on potential employees/employers.”
Basically, Indian army personnel can access the sites; however, engagement or uploading/sharing of any content is still strictly prohibited.
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This change has come soon on the heels of recent comments made by Indian Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi at the Chanakya Defence Dialogue when talking about army personnel and their social media usage.
The question General Dwivedi was asked was, “Today’s youth, Generation Z, wants to join the army. There seems to be a contradiction. The army essentially means staying away from social media. Is the new army thinking about integrating this in a new way? Because even the Commanding Officers must be facing a lot of difficulty deciding how much to allow and how much not to?”
To this, he replied, “This is indeed a problem because when these young people come to the NDA [National Defence Academy], I’m told that the first thing they do is search their cabins to find where they have hidden their phones.
It takes three to six months to convince the cadets that there is life without a phone. But is a smartphone a necessity today? I think it is an absolute necessity today. When I meet the soldiers, I tell them the same thing, that a smartphone is necessary.”
General Dwivedi further added, “I never refuse soldiers anything. Why? Because, you see, we are always in the field. You have to pay your child’s school fees. I couldn’t even be there for the birth of both my children. So, today, if a soldier is somewhere far away and wants to see his child’s first cries, how will he see them?
He’ll only see them in a photo. Similarly, he’ll inquire about his parents’ well-being or even get scolded by his wife over the phone. So, the point is that smartphones are very important. If you want to read something, how many books will you carry? Obviously, you’ll read on your phone.”
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: The Indian Express, The Hindu, India Today
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Indian Army, Indian Army soldiers, Indian Army social media, Indian Army social media ban, Indian soldiers social media, Indian Army news
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