Cites Rising Public Adoption, Assures App Is Voluntary and Secure
Privacy Concerns by Opposition and Rights Groups Trigger Rollback
New Delhi: The Union government has rolled back its decision to make the Sanchar Saathi app mandatory for pre-installation on all mobile phones manufactured or imported into India. The Ministry of Communications said the decision was withdrawn after the app witnessed massive voluntary adoption, with 1.4 crore downloads and nearly 2,000 fraud-related complaints being reported daily through the platform.
“The government, with an intent to provide access to cyber security to all citizens, had mandated the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app on all smartphones. The application is secure and purely meant to help citizens from bad actors in the cyber world,” the ministry said in an official statement. It added that the app enables ‘jan bhagidari’ (public participation) in reporting cyber fraud while ensuring user protection.
The ministry clarified that the app does not perform any function other than user protection and can be deleted by users at any time, reaffirming that it is entirely optional.
The pre-installation directive was originally introduced to accelerate adoption, particularly among less digitally aware users. However, the move faced strong resistance from opposition parties, privacy advocates and digital rights groups, who raised concerns over potential surveillance and data misuse. Following the backlash, the government decided to withdraw the order.
Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also sought to allay fears, stating that the app is secure, voluntary and cannot be used for snooping. He highlighted its growing popularity, noting that nearly 6 lakh new users registered in a single day, marking a ten-fold surge in adoption.
The rollback is being seen as a significant retreat by the government amid the ongoing debate on digital privacy, surveillance and user consent.
