New Delhi [India], December 3 : The Ministry of Communications on Wednesday withdrew its directive requiring smartphone manufacturers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on new devices, following opposition from various parties and concerns over privacy and surveillance.
The app, aimed at enhancing cybersecurity and combating digital fraud, will now be available for voluntary download.
The decision came after widespread criticism, with opponents arguing that mandatory pre-installation could enable unchecked state surveillance and infringe on consumer choice. The government maintained that the app is secure and meant to protect citizens from cyber threats, but ultimately decided to prioritise user consent.
The Sanchar Saathi app allows users to verify device authenticity, report lost or stolen phones, and block suspicious connections. Over 1.4 crore users have already downloaded the app, which is available in 21 Indian languages.
Meanwhile, earlier, while addressing the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of Communications, Jyotiraditya Scindia, reiterated that the Sanchar Saathi application can be deleted from mobile phones and will not be operational until the user registers on it.
He refuted speculation about snooping after the Centre issued a directive to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on mobile handsets.
Replying to a question by Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda, the Union Minister said, "I want to keep all the facts in front of the nation. We have one billion (mobile) users, but there are elements who use it in a negative manner. It is the government's duty to keep the citizens safe. Sanchar Saathi portal was started in 2023 with this mind, and the app was brought in 2025... We decided to give all citizens a choice. If the app is on your phone, it does not mean it will operate automatically. Till the user registers in the app, it will not operate."
Scindia also said that the government is ready to change the order issued by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) if public feedback demands so.
"I can delete it like any other app, as every citizen has this right in a democracy. We took this step to make the app accessible to all. The success of the app is based on public participation. Based on the public feedback, we are ready to bring a change in the order. Snooping is not possible, nor will it be done," he added.
During the Question Hour, Deepender Singh Hooda raised concern, claiming that all the app's features may not be disabled even if the user wanted them to be.
"A directive for pre-installation of the Sanchar Saarthi app has been passed. The Union Minister said that it will be pre-installed, but later the user can delete it. However, when there is a pre-loaded app, even after disabling it, the users would not know if all the features have been disabled or not. Is it an attack on privacy? There are concerns over snooping," the Congress MP had asked.
Union Minister of State for Communications, Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, also reiterated the government's stance on the 'Sanchar Saathi' app, noting that the app is to prevent cyber fraud.
Talking to ANI outside Parliament, the Minister noted that anyone who says it is a snooping app should download the app and have a look for themselves.
"There are only a few ways, where you can prevent cyber fraud. This is, in my view, this is probably the only way," he said, referring to the Sanchar Saathi app.
"Whether we can mandatorily pre-install or not, that's a different story that, government, (Jyotiraditya) Scindia Ji, has just explained that, you know, we will relook into that order," the MoS said.
Noting that cyber attacks are quite sophisticated, the MoS said the Sanchar Saathi app will prevent cyber fraud of "all the vulnerable people, because the goal of the app is to take the information from the educated people, and help the poor people, older people."He also noted that the Sanchar Saathi app is being worked on in all "vernacular languages."
"We worked hard and if you look at the website, almost 20 crore website hits are coming to this website, Sanchar Sathi. And 1.4 crore people have already downloaded this app," he asserted.
He further said the app is available on both Android and iOS.
"The other important thing that people have to remember is Apple and Google, everyone verified this app before, it's already in the app store. This app is already in the app store. Usually, if it has any other malicious intention, they would not even allow it to be in the app store in the first place," the Minister said.
Also, the Ministry said in a statement that the government, with the intent to provide access to cybersecurity to all citizens, had mandated the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app on all smartphones.
The government maintains that the app is secure and intended solely to help citizens avoid 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," the Ministry said.
So far, 1.4 crore users have downloaded this app and are contributing to information on 2000 fraud incidents per day, the ministry asserted.
The number of users has been increasing rapidly, and the mandate to install the app was intended to accelerate this process and make the app more easily available to less aware citizens.
"Just in the last 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," the ministry added.