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. 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”. For platforms including YouTube, X, Quora and Instagram, only passive use to access information or gain knowledge has been authorised.

Source: The Hindu December 25, 2025 18:44 UTC