A non-removable government app could impede a person’s right to choose, run afoul of India’s newly created privacy regime and impose onerous compliance requirements, the executives said, speaking on condition of anonymity because their companies were still evaluating government regulations.
On 28 November, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communications issued a notice to companies selling mobile phones in India to compulsorily pre-install Sanchar Saathi on all new phones and upload it to phones already in use through software updates.
Companies were given 90 days to comply and 120 days to report on compliance and were asked to ensure compliance the application cannot be disabled or uninstalled at any time. Mint saw a copy of the announcement.
The DoT reinforced its message with a post on social media platform X on Monday evening.
Sure, India has about 750-800 million smartphone users, and according to IDC, just over 150 million smartphones are sold in India annually.
Two senior executives of electronics companies directly privy to the notification said the DoT notification was delivered to reduce the misuse of mobile phones in various scams.
“The notification clearly states that Sanchar Saathi must be pre-installed in all mobile phones to make it easier for the Center to track nefarious activities,” said the first of the two executives.
“Their idea is that if a smartphone’s IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number is blacklisted on Sanchar Saathi, having that number pre-installed on all phones will immediately block those numbers and narrow the window of devices that fraudsters can use,” this executive added.
Both phone brands and industry players are set to push back against the announcement.
A person close to the development at Apple said the company “may file a statement with the department because Apple has never had a history of backing down from sideloading and preloading government-backed apps that could lead to surveillance”.
Executives close to Google and Samsung also said they were actively evaluating the order. “It seems like a bit of an odd incident because such broad rules usually bypass industry consultation to deal with key issues. We were not consulted on this,” said one executive.
Questions sent to Apple, Google, Samsung and Xiaomi remained unanswered as of press time.
What the experts say
“Mandating a non-removable installation seems unreasonable and ineffective,” said Sumeysh Srivastava, partner at consultancy The Quantum Hub. “The app cannot automatically scan IMEI numbers without user input, and even if it could, anyone wanting to commit fraud could simply use an older device or root their phones to remove the app.”
Srivastava added that in addition to limited utility, there are legitimate ones privacy concerns about a mandatory government app with access to call logs, text messages and cameras on every citizen’s personal device.
He pointed to the fact that the app is growing organically with over 100 million downloads. “Further awareness efforts may help adoption, but use should ultimately depend on whether citizens see value in it. Mandatory installation is neither reasonable nor justified,” Srivastava said.
Tarun Pathak, director of mobile research at Counterpoint India, said a pre-installed app can make things too complicated, pointing to internal policies at companies like Apple that prohibit any pre-installed apps from third parties, including governments.
“After the consultation round, there should be a middle ground where users can see some notification of preference to push the app – but ultimately users keep their choice,” Pathak said. “Not having the app deleted is a step backwards, given that our recent privacy policy suggests otherwise.”
What was stated in the notice
The notification itself read: “After 90 days from the issuance of these instructions, ensure that the Sanchar Saathi mobile application as specified by DoT is pre-installed on all mobile phones manufactured or imported for use in India.”
Brands must further “ensure that the pre-installed Sanchar Saathi app is easily visible and accessible to end users at the time of first use or device setup, and that its functionality is not disabled or limited. For all such devices that have already been manufactured and are in the sales channels in India, mobile phone manufacturers and importers will endeavor to push the app through software updates.”
