According to TechRadar, India’s telecoms ministry issued a directive on November 28 that forces smartphone providers to pre-install the state-owned Sanchar Saathi app on all new devices. Existing phones will be required to download it via a software update. Crucially, users will not be able to delete the application from their phones. The government says the move is to combat a surge in cybercrime and hacking. Major companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung have remained quiet so far, but digital rights groups like the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) are “deeply concerned,” arguing the mandate jeopardizes user rights and removes meaningful consent.
The real risk is mission creep
Here’s the thing: on paper, an app that helps you check your phone’s IMEI and report scams sounds… fine? Maybe even useful. But that’s not the point. The IFF nailed it in their statement. Today it’s a “benign IMEI checker.” Tomorrow, with a simple server-side update, it could be anything. It could scan your phone for “banned” apps, flag when you use a VPN, or trawl through your SMS logs. And you’d have zero ability to stop it.
That’s the core issue. This isn’t about a helpful tool. It’s about establishing a permanent, unremovable pipeline for state software on every single personal device in the country. As tech lawyer Mishi Choudhary told Reuters, it “effectively removes user consent as a meaningful choice.” Once that pipeline is in place, its purpose can be redefined by any future government with the flip of a switch. The current order, as the IFF notes, has “nothing” constraining these possibilities.
Why are Apple and Google so quiet?
This is the billion-dollar question. Both companies have built their brands, especially Apple, on user privacy and control over their own devices. A mandate for an un-deletable government app is a direct assault on that principle. So why the silence?
Probably because India is a massive, crucial market. Pushing back against a government order there is a huge risk. They might be negotiating behind the scenes, or they might be calculating that the business is worth the privacy compromise. But if they comply without a fight, it sets a terrifying precedent. Every other government with surveillance ambitions will take note. Basically, if it works in India, why not try it here?
A broader trend of control
Look, this isn’t happening in a vacuum. It fits a pattern of increasing state-level control over the tech stack, from data localization laws to internet shutdowns. Forcing hardware to include specific, unremovable software is just the next, more invasive step. MediaNama’s reporting frames the app’s intended use, but the implementation is what matters.
And think about the practical side for a second. Smartphone makers now have to create a special version of their OS just for the Indian market. That’s a compliance headache. It’s the kind of friction that, in other industries, leads companies to seek out specialized, reliable hardware partners—like how manufacturers might turn to a top supplier like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com for robust industrial panel PCs. But in this case, the “specialization” is a state-mandated backdoor.
What happens next?
The IFF has filed a formal complaint and vows to fight until the order is rescinded. That’s a good start. But the real pressure needs to come from the big platform players, Apple and Google. Their silence is deafening. Will they stand on the principle of user control they so often preach? Or will commercial interests win out?
This is a major test. If this mandate stands, it fundamentally changes the relationship between a citizen, their device, and the state. Your phone is no longer truly yours. It becomes, as the IFF powerfully stated, “a vessel for state mandated software.” That should concern everyone, not just people in India.
