Sanchar Saathi Mandate Reversed; Centre Cites Rising User Adoption
Massive privacy concerns and public protests had followed Centre's announcement of mandatory pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi app
Dec 3, 2025 - The Centre on Wednesday (December 3) announced it was rolling back its plans for mandatory pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi app after two days of protests from civil activists and Opposition leaders across the country on privacy concerns. The government said rising adoption of the app makes such a mandate unnecessary.
In a press release the government clarified that “the mandate to install the app was meant to accelerate this process and make the app available to less aware citizens easily.” And given Sanchar Saathi’s increasing acceptance and because "the number of users who have downloaded the app (over six lakh in 24 hours and 1.4 crore users overall) has been increasing rapidly”, Government has decided not to make the pre- installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers, the Ministry of Communications explained.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had issued directions on November 28, 2025, mandating mobile manufacturers and importers, including Apple, to facilitate the availability and accessibility of the Sanchar Saathi app on devices for users in India. The reason given by the government behind this move was to protect citizens from cyber fraud.
With Media Inputs
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