The Union government on Wednesday rolled back its order requiring smartphone manufacturers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi cyber safety app, a day after the Opposition raised allegations of privacy violations and “snooping”. The Centre, however, maintained that the withdrawal reflects “people’s participation” and the platform’s rising voluntary adoption.
In a statement, the government said the app “is secure and purely meant to help citizens from bad actors in the cyber world”. It added that “there is no other function other than protecting the users in the app and they can remove the app whenever they want”.
The Ministry of Communications underlined the importance of public participation in tackling digital fraud, saying the platform encourages “Jan Bhagidari” in reporting online threats. “It helps in ‘Jan bhagidari’ by all citizens in reporting on such bad actors and actions while protecting users themselves… they can remove the app whenever they want. This has been clarified by Government,” the ministry noted in a PIB release.
Government data shows that 1.4 crore users have downloaded Sanchar Saathi so far, collectively contributing information on around 2,000 cyber-fraud cases every day. The platform saw a sharp surge in interest over the past 24 hours, recording 6 lakh new registrations, a tenfold increase in daily uptake. The Centre described this spike as an “affirmation of faith by citizens on this App for protecting themselves”.
Citing the rapid rise in voluntary adoption, the government has now withdrawn the pre-installation requirement. “Given Sanchar Saathi’s increasing acceptance, Government has decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers,” the statement said.
The government’s notification formally withdrawing the mandate reiterated that the app is intended to help citizens protect themselves from cyber threats, stressing again, “There is no other function other than protecting the users… and they can remove the app whenever they want.”
Earlier in the Lok Sabha, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia insisted that “snooping is neither possible nor will it happen with the app”. He added that the ministry was willing to review the order in response to public feedback.
The opposition, however, accused the Centre of retreating only after being exposed. The Congress claimed the government had been “brazenly snooping” and attempting to offer “deceptive clarifications”.
The decision reverses a directive issued only days earlier, under which handset makers were asked to preload the app to expand access to cyber-protection tools. According to officials, Sanchar Saathi is designed solely to safeguard users from online fraud and has no surveillance capability. They reiterated that users maintain full control over the application.
