Alternative messaging platforms like Telegram and Signal are cashing in on the opportunity, and have seen a significant rise in the number of downloads in India

The petition could present a new legal headache for WhatsApp and its parent Facebook in India, where it has already been hit by backlash over fake news messages and a lawsuit around its adherence to data localization norms

WhatsApp Payments' launch has been delayed owing to data compliance concerns and regulatory norms even though it has for long been in the process of testing the payments service in India

IT Ministry sources said they have received a reply from WhatsApp and are studying it, and that a view on it will be taken soon

WhatsApp filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Israeli hacking tool developer NSO Group. It alleges that NSO built and sold a hacking platform that exploited a flaw in WhatsApp-owned servers to help clients hack into the cellphones of at least 1,400 users between April 29, 2019, and May 10, 2019

In a lawsuit filed in a US federal court, WhatsApp alleged that Israel's NSO Group used spyware called 'Pegasus' to target over 1,400 WhatsApp users, a few of them in India

WhatsApp attributes the spyware attack to Israeli tech firm NSO Group and its parent company Q Cyber Technologies; the company says it sent special WhatsApp messages to approximately 1,400 users who may have been affected by the attack