The government has ordered smartphone manufacturers to pre-install a centralized security app to protect citizens from cyber fraud, but the move has triggered immediate alarm among privacy advocates and opposition leaders.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued a directive mandating that all mobile handsets sold in India must come with the government’s ‘Sanchar Saathi’ app pre-installed. The order, which applies to major manufacturers including Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi, aims to create a unified shield against mobile theft and spoofing but faces pushback over potential state overreach.
The directive, issued under the Telecom Cyber Security Rules, 2024, is framed as a critical consumer protection measure. It requires manufacturers to ensure the app is “readily visible and accessible” on all new devices within 90 days. For phones already in the market, companies have been asked to push the app via software updates.
Officials state the app is a powerful tool for public safety. It allows users to verify if a pre-owned phone has a valid IMEI number (preventing the purchase of stolen goods) and provides a direct channel to report suspected fraud. Since its inception as a portal, the Sanchar Saathi initiative has successfully blocked millions of fraudulent connections and traced hundreds of thousands of lost devices, a success story the government now wants to embed in every pocket.
However, the mandatory nature of the installation has raised serious “Big Brother” fears. Digital rights experts warn that forcing a government-controlled app onto personal devices without a clear option to opt-out during setup could open the door to mass surveillance.
“Legally, one can argue that your mobile phone is your personal space… How do we know this app isn’t used to access files and messages?” asked Nikhil Pahwa, a prominent tech policy analyst, calling the move “bad news” for user privacy.
Tech giants are also reportedly resisting the move. Apple, which historically refuses to pre-install third-party apps on the iPhone, faces a direct conflict with its global privacy policies. The order explicitly states that the app’s functionalities must not be “disabled or restricted,” creating a potential standoff between Silicon Valley and New Delhi.
“The initiative is to safeguard citizens from buying non-genuine handsets and enabling easy reporting of suspected misuse,” the Ministry of Communications stated in its press release.
In contrast, opposition MP KC Venugopal described the order as “unconstitutional,” stating on X (formerly Twitter): “Big Brother cannot watch us… It is a means to watch over every movement, interaction and decision of each citizen.”
Facing a growing backlash, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia issued a clarification on Tuesday, stating that while manufacturers must install the app, users “can delete it” if they wish. “It is optional… Keeping it in their devices or not is up to the user,” he told reporters.
Despite this verbal assurance, the written order still legally binds manufacturers to ensure the app is “functional and enabled” at setup. The industry now has a 90-day window to negotiate the technical realities of this mandate before it comes into full force.
Also Read / Google Meet Outage Disrupts Users Across India as Work and Schools Report Access Failures.
Leave a comment