Sanchar Saathi won't come pre-installed as Centre recalls plan to mandate cybersecurity app

THE central government has withdrawn its earlier directive that required all mobile manufacturers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on new devices.

In a statement, the Ministry of Communications said that the government has decided not to make the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app mandatory for all mobile manufacturers due to its increasing acceptance.

“Given Sanchar Saathi’s increasing acceptance, the Government has decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers,” the ministry said.

The decision comes after backlash from the Opposition in Parliament, with snooping concerns raised due to the app’s permissions list, which includes access to messages and phone calls.

Why did govt say in the new order?

The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) said it had brought in the order to mandate the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app on smartphones with the intention of providing access to cybersecurity for all citizens.

“The app is secure and purely meant to help citizens from bad actors in the cyber world,” it says.

The DoT circular further states that Sanchar Saathi helps in “Jan bhagidari” by all citizens by reporting on bad actors and actions.

“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 DoT further clarified.

Notably, Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia had earlier clarified that the Sanchar Saathi platform cannot be used for surveillance of citizens and poses no threat to user data. The minister also categorically denied all allegations of snooping with the app, saying, “Sanchar Saathi app se na snooping sambhav hai, na snooping hoga.”

The DoT says the app has been downloaded by over 1.4 crore users so far and is contributing to information on 2,000 fraud incidents per day. It also noted that the number of users on the app is increasing rapidly and that the mandate to install the app was meant to accelerate this process and make the app available to less aware citizens easily.

As per government data, over 6 lakh citizens have downloaded the Sanchar Saathi app in the last one day, marking a 10x increase in its uptake.

What is Sanchar Saathi? What can it do?

The government introduced the Sanchar Saathi portal in 2023, which acted as a precursor to the app by the same name launched in January this year.

The app is aimed at empowering citizens to protect their digital identity by giving them the option to block lost devices, report fraud, verify mobile connections registered in their name and even verify the genuineness of their device.