India has issued a sweeping directive requiring all smartphone manufacturers to pre-install a government-operated cybersecurity application that users cannot delete. This move, announced in late 2025, has ignited significant alarm among digital rights groups and political opponents who warn it represents a dangerous expansion of state surveillance.
Details of the Government Directive
On Monday, December 1, 2025, the Indian government gave device manufacturers a 90-day deadline to comply with the new rules. The app, named "Sanchar Saathi" (Hindi for "communication partner"), must be "pre-installed on all mobile handsets manufactured or imported for use in India."
The official press release further mandates that the app be "readily visible and accessible to the end users at the time of first use or device setup" and that its functions cannot be disabled or restricted. For the massive existing market of already-sold phones, the government has ordered manufacturers and importers to "make an endeavour" to push the app via software updates.
Official Purpose vs. Privacy Concerns
The government states the app is designed to protect India's 1.16 billion mobile users from fraud. Its stated functions include allowing users to block and track lost or stolen devices and to identify and disconnect fake mobile subscriptions opened in their names. Authorities cite figures showing the app has already helped trace over 2.6 million phones.
However, privacy advocates and cybersecurity experts have raised immediate and serious objections. The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) declared the order "represents a sharp and deeply worrying expansion of executive control over personal digital devices." In a statement on X, the IFF argued the state is forcing every smartphone user to accept an "open ended, updatable surveillance capability" without essential democratic safeguards.
Political and Expert Backlash
Cybersecurity analyst Nikhil Pahwa called the rules a clear invasion of privacy, questioning how users can be sure the app or its future updates won't access unencrypted files and messages on their devices. "This is clearly an invasion of our privacy," he stated.
The political opposition has also reacted strongly. The Congress party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's opponents, demanded an immediate rollback of the order, calling it unconstitutional. Congress politician KC Venugopal posted on X, "A pre-loaded government app that cannot be uninstalled is a dystopian tool to monitor every Indian... It is a means to watch over every movement, interaction and decision of each citizen."
This move by India follows a similar action taken by Russia in August 2025, which ordered manufacturers to include a new messaging platform called Max on all new devices—a move also criticized as a potential surveillance tool. The directive places India at the centre of a global debate over state control, digital rights, and the balance between security and personal privacy.
