Data safety for mobile phone users and the right for privacy make for uneasy bedfellows. This was starkly evident when the Centre moved to place the Sanchar Saathi app on every new handset, even as Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia insisted that the tool was not intrusive. He specified that the app wasn’t even mandatory.
According to reports, Sanchar Saathi provides multiple citizen-centric services through its mobile app and web portal.
These services include Chakshu, which helps phone users report suspected cyber fraud.
“Such proactive reporting of suspected fraud communication helps (the) Department of Telecommunications in (the) prevention of misuse of telecom resources for cyber-crime, financial frauds etc,” the Sanchar Saathi website says.
Chakshu can also be used to report commercial spam calls. According to the Sanchar Saathi website, Chakshu also enables people to report malicious web links and fraudulent communications, including phishing links, device cloning attempts and other malware delivered through SMS, RCS, iMessage and social media platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.
The Department of Telecommunications, which comes under the Communications Ministry helmed by Scindia, directed mobile phone manufacturers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on all devices manufactured or imported into India within 90 days from November 28.
“Ensure that the pre-installed Sanchar Saathi application is readily visible and accessible to the end users at the time of first use or device setup and that its functionalities are not disabled or restricted,” the notification says. For phones already manufactured, companies were asked to push the app through software updates, with the Centre warning that failure to comply would attract action.
Scindia later defended the directions, saying, “There is no snooping or call monitoring.”
He was quoted as saying, “If you don’t want the app, don’t activate it. If you do want it on your phone, keep it. If you want to delete it, delete it.” He said, “The way your phone has many pre-installed apps like Google Maps— you can delete Google Maps if you don’t want it, so you can delete this also.”
“Obviously you can delete it. There is no problem. This is a matter of customer protection. It is not mandatory. If you don’t want to register, and don’t want to use the app, don’t use it; don’t register, and it will lay dormant.”
He also pointed to fraud figures: “In one year, in 2024 alone, our country had Rs 22,800 crore of frauds. On one hand, the Opposition complains about increasing fraud. On the other, when we give the Sanchar Saathi to the common citizens, they cry Pegasus.”
He added, “Those who don’t want to see the truth cannot be shown the truth.”
The Opposition sharply criticised the directive.
Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal called it “beyond unconstitutional”. “Big Brother cannot watch us.
The Right to Privacy is an intrinsic part of the fundamental right to life and liberty, enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution,” he reportedly said on social media.
“A pre-loaded government app that cannot be uninstalled is a dystopian tool to monitor every Indian. It is a means to watch over every movement, interaction and decision of each citizen. We reject this Direction and demand an immediate rollback,” he said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said the move was “another BIG BOSS surveillance moment”. “Such shady ways to get into individual phones will be protested and opposed & if the IT Ministry thinks that instead of creating robust redressal systems it will create surveillance systems then it should be ready for a pushback,” she said.
Industry unease also followed. According to a report, the order may lead to a tussle with Apple, which has opposed similar directions earlier citing privacy and security concerns.
It has been reported that the manufacturers were not consulted before the directive was issued. The Sanchar Saathi website says the app has been used to block 42 lakh stolen phones and recover 7 lakh phones. It has logged over 1 crore downloads on Android and nearly 10 lakh on iOS.
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