India Rolls Back App Mandate Amid Surveillance Concerns

India’s government has retracted a DoT order that would have required smartphone manufacturers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on all new devices and to retrofit it on existing ones, a move the department said would not be mandatory going forward. The November 28 directive, issued to accelerate adoption, prompted public pushback and a December 3 retraction, with the DoT framing the reversal as its own idea.

The Sanchar Saathi project, launched in January as a nationwide mobile-crime tool, has been claimed by the government to have a measurable impact, and the app’s proponents emphasise its potential to block stolen devices, trace fraud, and disconnect lines.

According to PIB Delhi, more than 14 million citizens have downloaded the app since its release on January 17, with users deactivating over 4.2 million lost or stolen devices, tracing more than 2.6 million, retrieving over 700,000, disconnecting about 14 million mobile connections, blocking over 600,000 IMEIs, and preventing an estimated 4.75 billion rupees in losses.

Critics highlight concerns about privacy and surveillance, noting past investigations into spyware and questioning whether a mobile databank could be used for surveillance as well as security.