2025-12-04 06:02:28
India has reversed its controversial order forcing smartphone makers like Apple and Samsung to pre-install an undeletable government “cyber safety” app on all new devices.
The now-withdrawn directive – issued privately on November, 28, 2025 – would have required manufacturers to preload the state-run Sanchar Saathi app, and ensure users could not disable or remove it, within 90 days.
For devices already manufactured, the government also wanted companies to push the app through a software update.
The move immediately triggered alarm over surveillance risks and a lack of consultation with the tech industry.
Before the repeal, Apple reportedly had no intention of complying, preparing instead to formally tell New Delhi that such mandates violate the company’s long-held privacy and security standards.
Samsung and Xiaomi were also said to have resisted the requirement.
The backlash grew quickly once the directive became public on Monday (12.01.25), prompting opposition parties and digital rights groups to accuse the government of trying to gain unprecedented access to India’s 730 million smartphones.
By Wednesday (12.03.25), the telecom ministry announced the order had been withdrawn, framing the reversal as a response to the app’s “increasing acceptance”.
Sanchar Saathi has seen 14 million downloads so far, with a sudden spike of 600,000 new registrations on Tuesday (12.02.25) alone.
Communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia insisted the app poses no surveillance threat, saying “snooping is neither possible nor will it happen”.
Digital rights groups cautiously welcomed the U-turn, with the Internet Freedom Foundation calling it “a welcome development,” while warning that full clarity will only come when the government publishes the updated legal direction.
For now, India’s attempt to make a state security app mandatory, and undeletable, appears to have run head-first into public pressure, global privacy norms, and one of the world’s largest smartphone makers.
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