On 28 November 2025 the Indian telecom ministry quietly sent manufacturers a directive. Preinstall Sanchar Saathi on every new phone. Push it to existing devices via updates. Make core features impossible to disable. The order hid behind the Telecom Cyber Security Rules 2024.
The directive leaked on 1 December. Within hours opposition leaders called it a snooping app. Privacy activists tore into it. Apple refused to join the working group. Samsung stayed silent but dragged its feet. Regular users flooded social media with rage.
By 2 December the government’s own numbers showed the backlash working. Sanchar Saathi downloads jumped from a steady trickle to 600000 in a single day. People chose to install it themselves rather than have it forced on them.
On 3 December the ministry folded. A new statement declared preinstallation no longer mandatory. The app stays voluntary. The original order demanding undeletable features vanished without formal withdrawal notice, but manufacturers received the message loud and clear.
Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had spent the previous day claiming users could delete the app anytime. The leaked directive proved the opposite. Features must not be disabled or restricted. He lied to your face on camera.
Sanchar Saathi already tracks IMEI blocking, call tracing, and fraud reporting for anyone who registers. Forcing it system-wide with protected components would have given the state a permanent hook into every Indian phone. Over 1.2 billion devices.
The Internet Freedom Foundation called the reversal welcome but refuses to celebrate until the legal order is officially scrapped. They are right to stay suspicious. The government still requires second-hand phone dealers to validate every device against the central IMEI database. They still pilot APIs that let platforms feed customer data straight to the state.
You forced the climbdown. Three days of unrelenting noise killed a surveillance mandate that took months to draft. That is real power.
Blackout VPN exists because privacy is a right. Your first name is too much information for us.
Keep learning
FAQ
What exactly did the original mandate demand
Preinstall Sanchar Saathi on every new and existing smartphone in India and prevent users from disabling its core features
When was the mandate issued and revoked
Directive sent 28 November 2025 and leaked 1 December. Government reversed it on 3 December 2025
Can you still remove Sanchar Saathi now
Yes. The app is fully voluntary and uninstallable after the reversal
Did any company agree to make the app undeletable
No. Apple refused to participate. Others waited and never implemented it
Is the government still expanding device tracking
Yes. Second-hand phone platforms must check the central IMEI database and a new API feeds customer data directly to the state