How Police in India Request Data from WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook
Authorised police and government officials in India can send preservation, emergency and records requests directly to Meta through its law-enforcement portals. For the content of messages, Meta says a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) request or letter rogatory may be required. India has a bilateral mutual legal assistance treaty with the US in force since October 3, 2005, which is the usual channel when content is needed.
India at a glance
| US mutual legal assistance treaty | In force since October 3, 2005Treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters Source |
|---|---|
| US CLOUD Act agreement | None Source |
| Budapest Convention on Cybercrime | Not a Party Source |
| Requests to Meta (Jul - Dec 2025) | 166,640 total: 152,412 legal process, 14,228 emergency; some data produced in 73.74% Source |
How to make the request
- Preserve first. Send a preservation request so the account data is kept while legal process is prepared; Meta preserves records for 90 days pending formal process.
- Use the official portals with an official government email. Facebook and Instagram: Meta’s Law Enforcement Online Request System (facebook.com/records). WhatsApp: whatsapp.com/records. Step-by-step: our Facebook & Instagram and WhatsApp portal guides.
- Attach valid legal process under India’s law for records requests, and identify the account precisely (username, profile URL, phone number with country code).
- Emergencies: where there is imminent harm to a child or a risk of death or serious physical injury, use the portal’s emergency request route.
- Content: India has a bilateral mutual legal assistance treaty with the US in force since October 3, 2005, which is the usual channel when content is needed. When to use which channel: MLAT vs LERS vs Interpol.
Meta’s guidelines: “A Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty request or letter rogatory may be required to compel the disclosure of the contents of an account.” Source
Legal notes for India
- BNSS 2023 s.94(1): 'Whenever any Court or any officer in charge of a police station considers that the production of any document, electronic communication, including communication devices, which is likely to contain digital evidence or other thing is necessary...' the officer may 'by a written order, either in physical form or in electronic form' require the person holding it to produce it. This is the domestic production-order power; the Act text does not itself say how a US-based platform must respond. Source
- BNSS 2023 s.112 (letter of request to a competent authority for investigation in a country or place outside India): on application by the investigating officer, 'any Criminal Court may issue a letter of request to a Court or an authority in that country'; s.112(2): transmitted 'in such manner as the Central Government may specify'. This is the letter rogatory / MLAT-request route. Source
- IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, rule 3(1)(j) (as updated 06.04.2023): an intermediary shall, 'not later than seventy two hours' of receipt of an order, provide information under its control or possession to a Government agency 'lawfully authorised for investigative or protective or cyber security activities'; the order 'shall be in writing stating clearly the purpose'. Source
Cybercrime unit in India
Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) (Ministry of Home Affairs). See cybercrime agencies in India.
Treaty and request figures checked against the US State Department’s Treaties in Force, the US Department of Justice, the Council of Europe treaty office and Meta’s Transparency Center on 12 October 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Other platforms: the platform-by-platform LERS guide; every country: police data requests by country.