India has backed away from its plan to force smartphone makers to pre-install a government app on all devices, following backlash and mounting concerns that the mandate would expand state access to users’ devices and weaken privacy protections.
On Wednesday, the Indian telecom ministry said Sanchar Saathi, an anti-theft and cybersecurity protection app, would remain voluntary, and that smartphone makers would no longer be required to preload it on devices they sell.
The new notice effectively reverses a directive issued to manufacturers last week (and circulated online on Monday) that had instructed manufacturers to bake the app into all devices and prevent its features from being disabled. News of the mandate soon ignited concerns over privacy and state overreach.
“Given Sanchar Saathi’s increasing acceptance, the government has decided not to make pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers,” the ministry said.
However, the government has not yet issued an official notification to smartphone makers reflecting the withdrawal, and manufacturers are still waiting for formal instructions, two manufacturer sources involved with the proceedings told TechCrunch.
Since its release in January 2025, Sanchar Saathi has so far been downloaded 14 million times, and contributes information on roughly 2,000 cyber-fraud incidents per day, per the Indian government. The recent controversy boosted interest in the platform, and the ministry noted that about 600,000 citizens registered to download the app on December 2 alone.
The telecom ministry’s notice follows much confusion over whether the app was truly voluntary, as the government claimed. Telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had insisted earlier this week that users could delete Sanchar Saathi at any time, even though the directive circulating among manufacturers stated that the app’s functionalities “must not be disabled or restricted.”
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The conflicting signals fueled criticism that the government was attempting to downplay the extent of its mandate. Critics warned that forcing a government app onto every smartphone, and preventing its features from being disabled would give authorities excessive visibility into users’ devices.
The directive had also raised concerns within the industry, with manufacturers privately questioning the feasibility of enforcing a permanent, system-level app without clear legal backing.
Deputy telecom minister Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said in media interviews that Apple did not participate in the working group for the initiative, though other smartphone makers did.
Sanchar Saathi had more than 3 million monthly active users in November, according to marketing intelligence firm Sensor Tower. Web traffic to Sanchar Saathi has also surged, with monthly unique visitors rising by more than 49% year-over-year, per Sensor Tower.
The Internet Freedom Foundation, a New Delhi-based digital rights group, called the reversal a “welcome development,” but urged caution, noting that it is still awaiting the legal order that should accompany the announcement. The group added that “cautious optimism, not closure,” was warranted until revised directions under the Cyber Security Rules, 2024, are published and independently verified.
Other parts of the Sanchar Saathi ecosystem continue to expand. Recommerce and trade-in platforms are still required to validate devices through a central IMEI database, and the telecom ministry is also piloting an API that could allow these firms to submit customer and device information directly to the state.
