In a significant reversal, the Union government withdrew its directive on Wednesday, mandating the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app on all smartphones sold in India, just days after issuing a sweeping order that sparked political outrage, public pushback and intense scrutiny from digital rights advocates. In
a release, the ministry of communications announced that, 'given Sanchar Saathi’s increasing acceptance', it had decided not to require mobile manufacturers to ship devices with the app preloaded, marking a clear U-turn from its earlier stand.
The retreat comes after a week of controversy triggered by a 28 November 2025 notification under the Telecom Cyber Security Rules, 2024, which required all smartphone-makers—domestic and foreign—to ensure that Sanchar Saathi was visible, functional and enabled at first use. The directive also prohibited manufacturers from disabling any feature of the app and required compliance within 90 days, extending even to devices already manufactured or in supply chains which were to receive mandatory over-the-air updates. The strict wording of the order effectively made the app unremovable, raising fears that users would be forced into a government-controlled system with no opt-out.
The move immediately prompted concerns about privacy, surveillance, digital autonomy and the potential misuse of device identifiers.
Moneylife’s reporting highlighted the contradiction between the government’s assurances —that the app 'can be deleted at a user’s discretion' and has 'no other function other than protecting the users'—and the DoT’s own directive requiring manufacturers to keep the app permanently visible and fully enabled, with no functions disabled or restricted. Critics argued that this gap raised deeper questions on whether citizens could genuinely uninstall or disable Sanchar Saathi once it became mandatory on every device.
Amid objections from Opposition leaders, civil society groups, technologists and cybersecurity experts, the government emphasised that Sanchar Saathi was purely a safety tool designed to curb cyber fraud, international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) tampering, unauthorised SIM connections and lost-device resale. The official release claimed that the app’s adoption had surged, with 14mn (million) downloads so far and 2,000 fraud incidents reported daily through citizen participation. It also highlighted a spike of 6 lakh new registrations in a single day, describing it as 'an affirmation of faith by citizens'.
Yet, despite these assertions, the real-world performance of the app has been inconsistent. Users frequently report issues such as failed registrations, broken SMS verification processes, app crashes and forms that do not accept required data.
Many complain that its much-publicised 'know your connections' feature often shows only SIMs physically present in the device rather than listing all numbers linked with their identity, raising doubts about its accuracy. The workflow for blocking stolen or lost phones—one of the app’s core promises—has also faced criticism for demanding duplicate SIMs, police paperwork and IMEI details that many victims do not have readily available. Several complainants say their devices remained active and traceable months after they filed reports.
The app’s reliability concerns are compounded by its design and usability shortcomings: unreadable screens, faulty date validations, confusing forms, no logout option and a general lack of responsiveness. For an app positioned as India’s frontline defence against cyber fraud, users say these issues undermine trust.
Privacy advocates have also raised alarms over the app’s permission framework. Features like ‘Chakshu’, which allows users to report suspicious calls and messages, have been criticised for potentially accessing call logs, SMS metadata and—allegedly—overlays linked to messaging apps including WhatsApp. Experts warn that if such an app were made compulsory and permanently enabled, the risk of silent continuous data access would be high, especially without clear legal safeguards, independent audits or transparency reports.
DoT has defended the system as vital to national telecom security, citing rampant IMEI duplication, fraudulent communication and the misuse of accounts without SIM presence on apps like WhatsApp and Telegram. It insists that Sanchar Saathi helps citizens report fraud, block stolen devices and identify unauthorised mobile connections through telecom analytics for fraud management and consumer protection (TAFCOP) and central equipment identity register (CEIR) databases. But the absence of strong privacy guarantees and the broad intrusiveness of the rules triggered widespread distrust.
The government’s reversal appears to be a direct response to the growing backlash, even as the official statement framed the decision as a recognition of the 'increasing acceptance' of the app. For now, Sanchar Saathi will remain voluntary, with users free to download or delete it as they choose, though concerns persist about the broader direction of telecom policy and the opaque manner in which cybersecurity obligations are being expanded.
The rollback marks one of the most visible policy retreats in the digital governance space in recent years, coming at a time when questions about privacy, surveillance and user rights remain at the forefront of public debate.
The Government's nefarious designs got exposed.
The Minister's assurances and the Order were miles apart - almost contradictory. That was the first signal that this whole issue was on shaky ground.