Users free to keep or delete Sanchar Saathi Jyotiraditya Scindia

PTI, December 02, 2025, New Delhi :  Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said the Sanchar Saathi app, a fraud reporting app the government wants pre-installed on all devices, can be deleted by users.

Users can decide to keep the Sanchar Saathi app or delete it, Scindia told reporters on Tuesday.

The Department of Telecom has directed manufacturers and importers of mobile handsets to ensure that its fraud reporting app, Sanchar Saathi, is pre-installed on all new devices and installed via a software update on existing handsets.

According to the direction dated November 28, all mobile phones that will be manufactured in India or imported after 90 days from the date of issuing of the order will need to have the app.

All mobile phone companies are required to report compliance to the DoT within 120 days.

"If you want to delete it, then delete it. But not everyone in the country knows that this app exists to protect them from fraud and theft," Scindia said.

Union minister for communications further noted that, "It is our responsibility to make this app reach everyone. If you want to delete it, then delete it. If you don't want to use it, then don't register it. If you register it, then it will remain active. If you don't register it, then it will remain inactive."           

As a government order to manufacturers to preload a state-run cybersecurity app, Sanchar Saathi, on all phones kicked up a privacy row, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday appeared to soften the stance, saying users are free to delete it if they so wish, and that it will remain inactive till they register on it. The November 28 order from his ministry directed smartphone makers to pre-install the app on all new devices and push it through updates on older ones. Many opposition leaders and critics saw it as a snooping attempt, as they felt the app could listen to calls and monitor messages.

Some phone makers, such as Apple, were reportedly opposed to the mandate. Sources said Apple would discuss the issue with the government and work out a middle path, as the order cannot be implemented in its current form. Scindia stepped in to diffuse the crisis and denied allegations that it was an app for snooping. "If you want to delete it, then delete it," Scindia told reporters outside Parliament. "But not everyone in the country knows that this app exists to protect them from fraud and theft."

While the November 28 order stated that the makers have to ensure that the functionalities of the app are not "disabled or restricted", it wasn't immediately clear if the app will be embedded in the operating software or is proposed to be a secondary one. Tech experts said any app, if embedded in the operating system, cannot be deleted by users. Some secondary apps, while not being visible on the home screen, may continue to run in the background. Some experts point out that the Sanchar Saathi app, like most other apps, seeks access to call logs, phone camera, notifications, phone dialler app, and SMS.

The move mimics a similar mandate issued by Russia in August, requiring a state-backed messaging app MAX to be pre-installed on all smartphones. Denying the Opposition's charges, Scindia asserted that there was no snooping or call monitoring through the app. "It is our responsibility to make this app reach everyone. If you want to delete it, then delete it. If you don't want to use it, then don't register it. If you register it, then it will remain active. If you don't register it, then it will remain inactive," he said.

Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani on Tuesday said that Sanchar Saathi app-related matters have been discussed with all mobile phone players in a working group, except Apple, as it did not participate in it. The minister told PTI that the Sanchar Saathi app is like any other app, which can be activated and deleted by consumers, and it is meant to ease reporting of online fraud and trace lost mobile phones, among others. An industry source said that Apple will discuss the order on Sanchar Saathi app installation and work out a middle path with the government. The company may not be able to implement the order in the current form, according to sources.

The government maintains that the app is crucial to counter "serious endangerment" to telecom cybersecurity from duplicate or spoofed IMEI numbers, which enable scams and network misuse. IMEI or International Mobile Equipment Identity is a 14 to 17-digit number, unique to each handset, which is used to cut off network access for phones reported to have been stolen. As per the direction issued, all mobile phone companies are required to report compliance to the DoT within 120 days.