In a dramatic 48-hour policy flip-flop that highlighted growing tensions between tech giants and government oversight, India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued - and then swiftly withdrew - a controversial directive requiring all smartphone manufacturers to pre-install the state-developed Sanchar Saathi app on devices sold in the country.
The original order, dated November 28, 2025, gave companies just 90 days to comply, mandating that the app appear prominently during device setup and that its core functionalities remain enabled and non-restrictable. For unsold inventory already in the supply chain, manufacturers were instructed to push the app via over-the-air software updates.
With India boasting over 730 million smartphone users - one of the world's largest markets - this would have effectively placed government software on hundreds of millions of devices overnight.
Sanchar Saathi, launched in 2023 as part of the government's citizen-centric telecom security initiative, empowers users to verify IMEI numbers for device authenticity, block lost or stolen phones across all carriers, check active mobile connections registered in their name, and report suspected fraudulent calls or messages.
Official statistics show the platform has already facilitated the blocking of more than 20 lakh stolen handsets and the disconnection of 1.45 crore fraudulent connections, while the app itself has been voluntarily downloaded over 1.4 crore times with the web portal seeing 21.5 crore visits.
Yet the mandate ignited immediate backlash. Privacy advocates and digital rights groups warned that requiring deep system-level permissions—including access to call logs, SMS, camera, and network data—could create a backdoor for surveillance, even if the app's stated purpose was purely protective. Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi of the Congress Party, decried it as an unconstitutional "Big Brother" move, accusing the Modi government of eroding personal freedoms in the name of security.
Apple emerged as the most vocal holdout, with sources confirming the company had no intention of complying globally or in India, citing fundamental conflicts with its closed iOS ecosystem and long-standing policy against pre-installing third-party or government-mandated apps outside exceptional cases like China.
Industry insiders noted that similar resistance was brewing from Google and other Android makers like Samsung and Xiaomi, who would need to create India-specific custom ROMs—a logistical and security nightmare.
Facing mounting criticism in Parliament and a surge in public scrutiny, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia initially defended the app as "completely voluntary and democratic," insisting users could delete it at any time and that no snooping was possible without explicit registration. However, this directly contradicted the directive's language prohibiting disablement.
By December 3, 2025 - just days after the order surfaced - the DoT executed a full U-turn, announcing the pre-installation requirement was no longer mandatory. Officials attributed the decision to a sudden spike in voluntary downloads—reportedly jumping tenfold in a single day amid the controversy—and growing public trust in the platform.
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The episode underscores India's delicate balancing act in a booming digital economy: combating rampant mobile fraud and theft while navigating accusations of overreach. With over 95% of the market running Android and Apple holding a premium niche, the brief standoff served as a reminder that global tech firms remain willing to push back against mandates they view as threats to user privacy. For now, Sanchar Saathi remains an optional tool - but the debate over state-mandated software on personal devices is far from settled in the world's most populous democracy.
