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India Mandates Pre‑Installation of State Cybersecurity App 'Sanchar Saathi' on New Phones

India's Department of Telecommunications has ordered phone manufacturers to pre-install the state cybersecurity app Sanchar Saathi on all new handsets and to push an update to install it on existing devices. The November 28 directive gives manufacturers 90 days to comply and requires the app to be non-disableable. Officials say the app combats duplicate or spoofed IMEI numbers and point to millions of downloads and blocked fraudulent connections. The mandate is expected to provoke resistance from some manufacturers — notably Apple — and privacy advocates.

07:42 PM, 12/01/2025Security
India Mandates Pre‑Installation of State Cybersecurity App 'Sanchar Saathi' on New Phones

India's central government has directed smartphone manufacturers to ship new devices with a state-owned cybersecurity application, Sanchar Saathi, pre-installed and non-disableable. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued the order dated November 28 and has given manufacturers 90 days to comply. The directive also instructs phone makers and carriers to deliver a software update that installs the app on devices already in use.

What the app does and why the government wants it

Launched in January and already available for voluntary download, Sanchar Saathi is intended to help detect and block duplicate or spoofed International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers — the unique codes networks use to identify and, if necessary, block stolen phones. Government figures state the app has been downloaded more than five million times, helped block over 3.7 million stolen or lost devices, prevented more than 30 million fraudulent connections and aided the recovery of over 700,000 phones.

Expected pushback and privacy concerns

The mandatory pre-install requirement is likely to draw resistance from some manufacturers and privacy advocates. A source with direct knowledge said Apple maintains internal rules against installing third-party software — including government-developed apps — before a device is sold, and has previously resisted similar requests from governments. Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research, suggested Apple may seek a compromise, such as offering a user-facing prompt that encourages installation rather than a forced pre-install.

"The order effectively removes user consent as a meaningful choice," said internet lawyer Mishi Choudhary, reflecting concerns from privacy campaigners about mandatory, non‑disableable software on personal devices.

What this means for users and manufacturers

The move raises technical, legal and privacy questions: how the app will be secured against misuse, what data it collects and stores, how users' control over their devices will be preserved, and how manufacturers will balance regulatory compliance with platform policies. The DoT had no immediate public comment on implementation details. The directive follows similar measures elsewhere aimed at reducing phone-based fraud and promoting state-backed security tools.

Key facts: November 28 DoT order; 90 days to comply; Sanchar Saathi available since January; government-reported impact: 5M+ downloads, 3.7M+ blocked stolen/lost phones, 30M+ fraudulent connections blocked, 700k+ phones recovered.

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