"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."
"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."
India reversed a directive that would have forced smartphone makers to pre-install Sanchar Saathi, an anti-theft and cybersecurity app, after backlash and privacy concerns. The telecom ministry said the app will remain voluntary and manufacturers will no longer be required to preload it or prevent its features from being disabled. No formal notification has yet been issued to manufacturers, and two manufacturer sources said they are still waiting for instructions. Since January 2025 the app has been downloaded 14 million times and supplies data on roughly 2,000 cyber-fraud incidents per day. The controversy drove interest, with about 600,000 registrations on December 2. Confusion arose because the ministry maintained users could delete the app while a circulating directive said its functionalities "must not be disabled or restricted."
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