India tells smartphone makers to put state-run cyber safety app on new devices
The Indian government has issued a major directive to all smartphone manufacturers, mandating the pre-installation of a state-owned cyber security application on all new devices sold across the nation. The Ministry of Communications’ order, which was privately issued to select companies on November 28, requires major manufacturers, including international giants like Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, and Vivo, to ensure their new phones come pre-loaded with the “Sanchar Saathi” app within the next ninety days. Crucially, the order specifies that the application must be installed in a way that prevents users from disabling or deleting it, a move that is already raising significant privacy and user-consent concerns among digital rights advocates and the mobile industry.
The government justified the sweeping mandate by citing the essential need to combat the “serious endangerment” of telecom cyber security from fraudulent activities, including a recent surge in phone-related scams, hacking, and the use of duplicate or spoofed International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers. The Sanchar Saathi app, which was released in January, is designed as a citizen-centric tool that allows users to block and track lost or stolen phones across all telecom networks, check the authenticity of IMEI numbers, and report fraudulent mobile connections or suspicious communications. Official government figures indicate the app has been highly successful since its launch, helping to block more than 3.7 million stolen or lost devices and recover over 700,000 lost phones.
The directive, which requires compliance for devices already in the supply chain via software updates, is expected to face considerable resistance, particularly from U.S. technology giant Apple. Sources familiar with the company’s operations note that its internal policies typically prohibit the installation of any third-party or government applications before the sale of an iPhone, setting the stage for a potential policy clash with one of the world’s largest smartphone markets. Privacy advocates have voiced strong criticism, arguing that the mandate effectively removes user consent and sets a problematic precedent for the government to push future, potentially surveillance-oriented, applications onto citizens’ personal devices without their choice. Manufacturers have been given 120 days to submit compliance reports to the Department of Telecommunications.
