This is a full-scale retreat by the government after barely 48 hours of intense pressure. The Opposition called it a “dictatorship” move and “another BIG BOSS surveillance moment.” The government blinked.
Government removes mandatory pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi App
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…
— PIB India (@PIB_India) December 3, 2025
Here are the raw notes on the Sanchar Saathi mandate being rolled back:
Government Retreat: Mandatory Sanchar Saathi Pre-Install Rollback Amid Privacy Row
The order mandating smartphone manufacturers—including big players like Apple—to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi cybersecurity app is DEAD. The rollback happened on Wednesday, just two days after the directive caused a political firestorm.
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The Official Spin: The government claims the rollback is due to the “increasing acceptance” of the app. The numbers are huge: over six lakh users downloaded it in the last 24 hours alone, pushing the total to 1.4 crore users overall. The mandate, they say, was only “meant to accelerate this process.” Public participation won.
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The Real Cause: Let’s be real. This followed two days of furious protests. Opposition leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Karti Chidambaram, raised concerns about surveillance, calling it a “snooping app” and drawing parallels to the Pegasus scandal. Apple was reportedly prepping a legal challenge, which means the government faced heat from both Parliament and industry.
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The Minister’s Defense: Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia spent the morning confirming in Parliament what critics questioned—that the app can be deleted. “Snooping is neither possible nor will it happen,” he stated. “And I can delete it like any other app… as every citizen has this right in a democracy.” The success is now based on “public participation,” not a mandate.
The government issued the order. The Opposition and privacy activists screamed “snooping.” And then the government, facing heat and potential legal challenges, made a swift, messy U-turn.
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