In Major Climbdown, Govt Says Sanchar Saathi Pre-installation Not Mandatory

New Delhi: Amid severe backlash around the government backed cybersecurity app that would be pre-installed for smartphone users, the Union ministry for communications has announced that the government has “decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers”.

The ministry statement came only hours after Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia told parliament that there is no scope for “snooping” through the government backed cybersecurity app and the directions to telecom companies and manufacturers “may be changed” following feedback from the public. Outside parliament he also said paragraph 7b of the directions had been ‘misconstrued’ and ‘nowhere does 7b say that the user cannot delete the app”.

“Given Sanchar Saathi’s increasing acceptance, Government has decided not to make the pre- installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers,” the union ministry for communication said in a press release on Wednesday (December 3).

While the press release made no mention of the criticism surrounding the government’s move to issue directions to smartphone manufacturers and telecom operators on November 28 which was only made public on December 1 after a Reuters report, it said that its intention was to “provide access to cyber security.”

“The Government with an intent to provide access to cyber security to all citizens had mandated pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi app on all smartphones. The app is secure and purely meant to help citizens from bad actors in the cyber world,” the ministry statement said.

“It helps in "Jan bhagidari" by all citizens in reporting on such bad actors and actions while protecting users themselves. There is no other function other than protecting the users in the app and they can remove the app whenever they want. This has been clarified by Government.”

The Internet Freedom Foundation, an advocacy organisation for digital civil rights, issued a statement cautiously welcoming the decision. It said, "...we are still awaiting the full text of the legal order that should accompany this announcement, including any revised directions under the Cyber Security Rules, 2024."

Statement

The PIB has just issued a statement at 3:00 PM on December 3, 2025 that the government will not make pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app mandatory for mobile manufacturers. This is a welcome development, but we are still awaiting the full text of the legal order… pic.twitter.com/VQV4t8YNfK

— Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) (@internetfreedom) December 3, 2025

Earlier on Thursday, Scindia told parliament that the app cannot be used for snooping, while outside parliament he said that Paragraph 7(b) “does not say that you cannot uninstall the app.”

“We have tried to give every citizen the choice. Because the app is on the phone, it does not mean that it will be operated. Until the user registers on the app it won’t operate. There are several apps on a user’s phone which can be deleted. This is the core right of a citizen in a democracy,” said Scindia during question hour in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday (December 3).

“We have only taken this step to make this app available to every user. But I want to state in the house that the success of this app is due to the people. We will get feedback and on the basis of the feedback if changes need to be brought to the order we are ready to do so. I want to state that due to this app snooping is not possible nor will snooping take place. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government wants to give the citizens rights to keep themselves protected,” he added.

On December 1, the Ministry of Communications announced through a Press Information Bureau release that it had directed  smartphone makers to pre-install the government-owned cyber security app, Sanchar Saathi, on all new devices, and the app be pushed through software updates in existing devices. The release came hours after the order to telecom companies dated November 28 was reported by Reuters.

On Wednesday, amid criticism over privacy concerns around the pre-installation of the app on phones and the inability of users to delete it, Scindia said that the app will remain "optional".

However, the directions issued by the Department of Telecommunications dated November 28  also do not mention that the app will be optional as claimed by the minister.

Paragraph 7(b) of the directions also state that manufacturers and importers of handsets intended for use in India are to “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.”

Inside parliament on Wednesday, Scindia made no mention of the fact that the directions that do not state that the app will remain optional. However, outside parliament Scindia later said that Paragraph 7(b) “does not say that you cannot uninstall the app.”

“Section 7B does not say that you cannot uninstall the app. The problem is that the reality is lost if you don’t go into the details. What does 7b say, it only says that the phones should have the apps installed and there should be no hindrance for the user to access it and it should not be disabled so that the user cannot use it. Nowhere does 7b say that the user cannot delete the app,” said Scindia to reporters outside parliament.

“So 7b is not for users, it is for the installation of the app on the phone by manufacturers. It has been misconstrued to say that 7b is for users. The user, like anyone on a mobile, can go and press on the app and delete it. So let’s not misunderstand what 7b stands for,” he added.

The Indian Express reported on Thursday that Google was planning to push back on the mandatory pre-installation of the app on its devices. Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters had also reported that Apple does not plan to comply with the mandate to preload its smartphones with a state-owned cyber safety app and will convey its concerns to New Delhi.

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