NEW DELHI – The order requiring smartphone manufacturers to pre-install the government’s Sanchar Saathi app on new devices has triggered political criticism and concerns from digital rights groups, who say the move raises questions about consent, surveillance and the widening scope of telecom regulation.
The directive, issued by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on December 1, asks phone makers to preload the app, which integrates tools the government has previously launched to report fraudulent calls, check the validity of IMEI numbers and block stolen devices by blacklisting their identifiers across telecom networks.
Opposition parties called the mandate unilateral and intrusive. Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said on X that issuing such directions “without taking into confidence various stakeholders and citizens is akin to dictatorship,” adding that it amounted to “yet another addition to the long list of attempts… to strangulate the voice of the people.”
Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Tuesday that users would be able to delete the app, but some lawmakers disputed that claim. Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said that a mandatory preloaded app effectively removes user choice.
“When you say ‘mandated’ in your notification… it then comes preloaded on every phone. So it is absolutely ridiculous to say that you can voluntarily download or delete the app,” she said.
Left leaders also raised concerns about broader implications for digital privacy. CPI(M) MP John Brittas said in a letter to the minister that compulsory installation “undermines the very principle of informed consent and transforms the mobile phone into a potential instrument of continuous digital supervision.”
Cybersecurity experts questioned the technical risks of preinstalled software. Anand Venkatanarayanan, co-founder of policy consultancy DeepStrat, said on X that apps with system-level privileges could potentially gain enhanced permissions through over-the-air updates, raising the possibility of misuse.
The DoT did not publicly announce the decision before news reports surfaced and has not commented on uninstall restrictions. Industry executives said most preloaded apps on Android smartphones cannot be removed by users, even if they can be disabled.
The order follows a series of recent directives under the amended Telecom Cyber Security Rules, 2024. Last week, the DoT instructed WhatsApp and similar platforms to limit accounts to the device associated with the user’s SIM card and to log out secondary access, such as WhatsApp Web, every six hours.
The Sanchar Saathi app was first launched as a website in 2023 and later expanded to include tools for fraud reporting, device verification and stolen-phone blocking. Critics say making it compulsory represents a shift in how far telecom rules now extend beyond network operators to any service linked to mobile numbers.
Since its launch, Sanchar Saathi has already facilitated the recovery or blocking of well over 6 lakh lost or stolen mobile handsets across the country. The platform reportedly logged more than 50,000 recoveries in October 2025 alone — a record high for a single month.
In addition to handset recovery, it helps users verify the authenticity of a phone via its IMEI number, block blacklisted devices, check all mobile connections registered under their name, and report suspicious calls or messages.
