ISLAMABAD: The Indian government on Wednesday withdrew its mandate requiring mobile phone makers to pre-install its state-owned and contentious cyber-security application Sanchar Saathi, according to a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau of India.
“Government has decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers,” the statement said.
The move marked the third change in policy on Sanchar Saathi within days.
On Monday, the communications ministry had instructed manufacturers to pre-install the app on every device, according to local media reports. The directive also required the app to be undeletable, triggering criticism from opposition parties and digital rights advocates.
By Tuesday, Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia told reporters the app remained optional.
“If you don’t want the Sanchar Saathi app, you can delete it. It is optional… It is our duty to introduce this app to everyone. Keeping it in their devices or not is up to the user,” Scindia said.
The app, already available on major app stores with millions of downloads, is “designed to help users combat fraud and recover stolen phones,” according to government officials.
“Sanchar Saathi allows users to report suspected fraud directly from call logs, enabling informed citizens to actively protect less-aware users,” the Press Information Bureau stated.
Cybersecurity researchers, however, have raised concerns over the app’s access to user data once installed.
Digital rights expert Haroon Baloch told Pakistan TV that the application’s permissions allow the state to access sensitive information.
“The state can access information stored inside your mobile phone, including access to the gallery, phone book, and messages,” he said.
The government did not dispute the level of access, saying the data would be used only by law enforcement agencies for addressing serious security crimes.
Experts also questioned its national-security effectiveness.
“Terror groups and other non-state actors use more sophisticated communications and phones,” Baloch noted, adding that such measures may only assist in addressing low-level crimes rather than major threats.
