In a significant clarification after a political row erupted over the Centre’s move to mandate pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app on all new smartphones, Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said users are not required to keep the app on their devices.
“If you don't want Sanchar Saathi, you can delete it. It is optional… It is our duty to introduce this app to everyone. Keeping it in their devices or not is up to the user,” Scindia told reporters, stressing that the government was only ensuring wider access to a tool designed to curb cyber fraud.
Scindia's remarks came after the Opposition protested the Department of Telecommunications' (DoT) fresh directives effective November 28, asking all mobile handset manufacturers and importers to pre-install the state-owned cybersecurity app on devices meant for use in India. Companies have been given 90 days to implement the mandate and 120 days to file compliance reports.
“When the Opposition has no issues and tries to find some, we cannot help them. Our duty is to help consumers and ensure their safety,” Scindia said, rejecting allegations that the app enables snooping. “This app does not enable surveillance or call monitoring. You can activate or deactivate it as you wish."
Defending the app as a critical cybersecurity tool, Scindia said Sanchar Saathi has over 20 crore downloads on the portal and 1.5 crore downloads of the app, and has played a key role in curbing telecom fraud. “Sanchar Saathi has enabled the disconnection of nearly 1.75 crore fraudulent mobile connections. Around 20 lakh stolen phones have been traced and 7.5 lakh returned to their owners , all because of Sanchar Saathi,” he said.
According to the DoT, the move aims to protect consumers from counterfeit devices, simplify reporting of telecom misuse, and strengthen the broader Sanchar Saathi initiative. The platform, which uses IMEI-linked verification, allows users to check the authenticity of handsets, report suspected fraud, locate lost or stolen phones, monitor mobile connections issued in their name, and help financial institutions verify trusted devices.
Government data shows that since its launch in January, the Sanchar Saathi app has helped recover over 7 lakh lost phones, including 50,000 in October alone.
Major handset makers including Apple, Samsung, Google, Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi manufacture phones in India and will be required to comply with the order.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday criticised the Centre’s move to mandate pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app on mobile phones, describing it as a “snooping app” and accusing the government of undermining citizens’ privacy.
Flaying the move, Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said, "India has now become a 'surveillance state'.
"Is it Official Pegasus or akin to REDFLAG App of North Korea on every Cellphone? India is now a 'Surveillance State'? India will now be a 'Police State'? Right to Privacy & Personal Space are now officially dead," Surjeala said in a post on X.
Earlier Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury filed an adjournment motion notice in the Rajya Sabha seeking suspension of business to discuss the government's directions on installation of the Sanchar Saathi App.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal had said on Monday that the right to privacy is an intrinsic part of the fundamental right to life and liberty.
"Big Brother cannot watch us. This DoT direction is beyond unconstitutional. The Right to Privacy is an intrinsic part of the fundamental right to life and liberty, enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution.
"A pre-loaded government app that cannot be uninstalled is a dystopian tool to monitor every Indian. It is a means to watch over every movement, interaction and decision of each citizen," Venugopal had said in a post on X.