India reverses order for tracking app to be loaded on mobile phones

by · UPI

Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The Indian government on Wednesday reversed an order that required all new mobile phones to have a tracking app on them, after backlash from the public over privacy concerns.

The app, called Sanchar Saathi, was designed to help prevent theft and phone smuggling, as well as call center fraud. But it also had the ability to make and manage phone calls, send messages, access call and message logs, photos and files, and the phone's camera.

The Indian government had required all new phones to come pre-installed with the app.

When it withdrew the order, the government said it was because "the number of users who have downloaded the app has been increasing rapidly."

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There have been 14 million users downloading the app, and they've reported 2,000 frauds daily. On Tuesday, 600,000 new users registered.

The withdrawal order also confirmed what Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had said -- that the app can be deleted.

"The government, with an intent to provide access to cybersecurity to all citizens, mandated pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi app on all smartphones. The app is secure and meant to help citizens from bad actors in the cyber world. There is no other function other than protecting users ... and they can remove the app," New Delhi TV reported that Scindia said.

"This is a welcome development, but 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," the Internet Freedom Foundation said on X.

"For now, we should treat this as cautious optimism, not closure, until the formal legal direction is published and independently confirmed."