• Source:JND
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Sanchar Saathi app update: The Centre has reversed its directive that required smartphone makers to preinstall the Sanchar Saathi cybersecurity app onto every new device sold in India, sparking privacy and political criticism as well as reports of Apple resisting it. On Wednesday, this order was officially reversed.

Why the Government Backed Off

Officials believe the order was intended to boost app adoption and provide everyone with instantaneous access to fraud-tracking tools, but after its rapid update – over six lakh downloads in 24 hours and 1.4 crore overall – the government decided it is enough that adoption is already strong without making it mandatory.

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Rising Criticism and Constitutional Concerns

Privacy advocates, opposition leaders, and legal experts argued the mandate crossed a line.

Original Order, Issued November 28: This order stated that Sanchar Saathi must remain visible, functional and undeletable across phones already distributed – raising suspicion that it might be used as a surveillance tool given its requirement of SMS and call access permission during setup.

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According to officials familiar with discussions inside the DoT, legal consultations also indicated that the mandate might struggle to hold up constitutionally. Once the government confirmed the app could be deleted, critics pointed out that anyone engaging in fraud would simply remove it—making enforcement pointless.

Political Heat

Oppositions were quick to raise concerns over the directive. Congress leaders such as Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Karti Chidambaram accused it of normalising a surveillance state similar to Pegasus, while others described the directive as “another Big Boss moment”, warning that even the perception of digital intrusion undermines public trust.

Digital rights groups welcomed the rollback but emphasised that clarity is still needed. They want the full text of the revised directions and point out that until the new legal order is published, the matter isn’t fully settled.

What Sanchar Saathi Actually Does

Developed by the Department of Telecommunications, the app is pitched as a citizen-safety platform. It helps users:

- Block lost or stolen phones

- Verify second-hand devices via IMEI

- Check mobile connections issued in their name

- Report suspicious SIM activity and cyber fraud

The ministry says the app has already contributed to the disconnection of fraudulent mobile numbers and claims it receives data on roughly 2,000 cyber incidents daily.

What New Press Release States

On 03 DEC 2025 at 3:00PM, a press release was issued by PIB Delhi, Ministry of Communications, that stated the following:

“The government, with an intent to provide access to cyber security to all citizens, had mandated pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app on all smartphones. The app is secure and purely meant to help citizens from bad actors in the cyber world.

It helps in "Jan Bhagidari" by all citizens in reporting on such bad actors and actions while protecting users themselves. There is no other function other than protecting the users in the app, and they can remove the app whenever they want. This has been clarified by the government.

So far 1.4 crore users have downloaded this app and are contributing to information on 2000 fraud incidents per day. The number of users has been increasing rapidly, and the mandate to install the app was meant to accelerate this process and make the app easily available to less aware citizens. Just in the last one day, 6 lakh citizens have registered for downloading the app, which is a 10x increase in its uptake. This is an affirmation of faith by citizens on this app for protecting themselves, provided to them by the government.

Given Sanchar Saathi’s increasing acceptance, the government has decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers.”

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Where Things Stand

For now, Sanchar Saathi remains available voluntarily on Android and iOS—and users can delete it.

Phone makers, including those originally instructed to preload the app, are awaiting written confirmation of the directive’s recall. Apple was reportedly preparing to resist the mandate, citing risks to the tightly controlled iOS security model.

The government insists it acted only to make the app more accessible, not to monitor citizens. But the backlash has highlighted a persistent tension: cybersecurity tools versus digital privacy. Until the revised order is published, the conversation isn’t over.

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