Indian Army allows ‘passive participation’ on social media, revises long-standing ban

After years of stringent restrictions on social media use, the Indian Army has revised its policy to allow “passive participation” by its personnel on select platforms, while maintaining strict safeguards to protect operational security.

According to an Army Headquarters order accessed by The Hindu, personnel are now permitted to access platforms such as Instagram and X solely for viewing and monitoring content. Any form of active engagement, including posting, commenting, sharing, reacting or sending messages, remains strictly prohibited.

The revised guidelines, issued by the Army Headquarters through the Directorate General of Military Intelligence (DGMI), have come into effect immediately. As part of the update, Instagram has been formally included in the list of restricted-use social media platforms.

The policy allows access to applications such as Instagram only for “purposes of viewing and monitoring”. “No comments or views will be communicated on Instagram,” the order stated, reiterating the Army’s emphasis on protecting sensitive information.

The guidelines further permit limited use of communication platforms such as Skype, Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal, but only for the exchange of unclassified information of a general nature. Such communication is allowed exclusively with known individuals, with the responsibility of verifying the recipient resting entirely with the user.

For platforms including YouTube, X, Quora and Instagram, only passive use to access information or gain knowledge has been authorised. Uploading user-generated content or engaging in any form of active participation remains prohibited. LinkedIn may be used only for professional purposes such as uploading résumés or seeking information related to prospective employers or employees.

The revised policy also advises personnel to avoid generic websites, portals offering cracked or pirated software, free movie platforms, torrent and VPN services, web proxies, anonymised websites, chat rooms and file-sharing platforms. It further cautions that cloud-based data storage services should be used only with extreme care.

In July 2020, amid heightened security concerns, the Indian Army had directed all officers and soldiers to delete their Facebook and Instagram accounts, along with 89 mobile applications, warning of strict action for non-compliance. The banned list included 59 applications with links to China, which were also prohibited by the Union government at the time.