'Sanchar Saathi app optional, users free to delete it': Jyotiraditya Scindia amid row over DoT order

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.