India has backed away from a plan to force smartphone makers to pre-install government apps on all devices, following backlash and growing concerns that the mandate would give the state greater access to users' devices and weaken privacy protections.
India's telecom ministry said Wednesday that anti-theft and cybersecurity protection app Sanchar Saathi will remain optional and smartphone manufacturers will no longer be required to preload it on the devices they sell.
The new notice effectively rescinds a directive issued to manufacturers last week (and circulated online on Monday) that told manufacturers to include the app on all devices and ensure its functionality is not disabled. News of the mandate immediately raised concerns about privacy and state overreach.
“Given Sanchar Saathi's growing support, the government has decided not to require mobile phone manufacturers to pre-install it,” the ministry said.
However, the government has not yet issued formal notices to smartphone manufacturers reflecting the withdrawal, and manufacturers are still waiting for official instructions, two manufacturer officials involved in the lawsuit told TechCrunch.
According to the Indian government, Sanchar Saathi has been downloaded 14 million times since its release in January 2025 and provides information on approximately 2,000 cyber fraud cases per day. Recent controversies have sparked interest in the platform, with the ministry noting that around 600,000 citizens registered to download the app on December 2 alone.
The Communications Ministry's notification comes after much confusion over whether the app is truly voluntary as the government claims. Telecommunications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia insisted earlier this week that users can remove Sanchar Saathi at any time, despite a directive circulating among manufacturers stating that the app's functionality “may not be disabled or restricted”.
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The conflicting signals fueled criticism that the government was trying to downplay the scope of its mandate. Critics warned that forcing government apps to be installed on all smartphones and preventing their functionality from being disabled would give authorities too much visibility into users' devices.
The directive has also raised concerns within the industry, with manufacturers privately questioning the feasibility of mandating permanent system-level apps without clear legal backing.
Deputy Communications Minister Penmasani Chandra Sekhar said in a media interview that Apple was not part of the initiative's working group, although other smartphone manufacturers did.
Sanchar Saati had more than 3 million monthly active users as of November, according to marketing intelligence firm Sensor Tower. Web traffic to Sanchar Saathi has also skyrocketed, with monthly unique visitors up more than 49% year over year, according to Sensor Tower.
The Internet Freedom Foundation, a New Delhi-based digital rights group, called the reversal a “welcome development” but urged caution, noting it was still awaiting legal orders to accompany the announcement. The group added that “cautious rather than closed-minded optimism” is warranted until the revised instructions under the 2024 Cybersecurity Regulations are published and independently verified.
Other parts of the Sanchar Saathi ecosystem also continue to expand. Recommerce and trade-in platforms will still need to verify devices through a central IMEI database, and the Department of Telecommunications is also piloting an API that will allow these companies to submit customer and device information directly to states.