Govt blinks on compulsory pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi app
The Narendra Modi government has revoked the DoT directive to smartphone makers mandating pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi app in all the communication devices manufactured by them
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has revoked the DoT directive to smartphone makers mandating pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi app in all the communication devices manufactured by them.
DoT Directive
In a directive privately issued to smartphone makers - including Apple, Samsung, Vivo, Xiaomi and others, on November 28, the Telecom department had mandated pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi app in all their communication devices.
The DoT had also directed the smartphone makers to install the app in existing devices via “forced updates”.
In its directive the DoT cited rising cybercrimes, online fraud and misuse of smartphone for its decision.
Outrage
The decision, however, sparked a huge outcry with the opposition parties terming the move “beyond unconstitutional” and “Big BOSS surveillance moment” for the Indian subscribers.
According to reports, leading smartphone maker Apple had also refused to abide by the DoT directive to compulsorily install the Sanchar Saathi app in its devices.
Following the outrage the government withdrew the decision.
Government's latest order on Sanchar Saathi
The Ministry of Communications in a clarification issued today said, “Government removes mandatory pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi App”,
Asserting that the app is safe, secure and its purpose was to protect the phone users, the government said, “The Government with intent to provide access to cyber security to all citizens had mandated pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi app on all smartphones. The app is secure and purely meant to help citizens from bad actors in the cyber world.”
“Given Sanchar Saathi’s increasing acceptance, government has decided not to make the pre- installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers”, the Ministry of Communications said.
The ministry’s clarification came a day after Communication Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia similarly said that the installation of Sanchar Saathi app in phones was not mandatory.
Sanchar Saathi App
The Sanchar Saathi app was launched on January 17, 2025 by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) which claimed that the app, a citizen-centric tool, brings robust security features and fraud-reporting capabilities directly to users’ smartphones.
So far 1.4 crore users have downloaded this app and are contributing to information on 2000 fraud incidents per day, the Ministry claimed.
“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 available to less aware citizens easily”, the ministry said.
“Just in last one day, 6 lakh citizens have registered for downloading the App which is a 10x increase in its uptake. This is affirmation of faith by citizens on this App for protecting themselves provided to them by the Government”, it added.
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