Big update on Sanchar Sathi app amid spying charges; Govt says…

New Delhi: Amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding the Sanchar Sathi app, the government has stated that it’s not mandatory to keep it on your phone. Furthermore, users can delete it. Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia made this announcement on Tuesday, 02 December 2025. The Department of Telecommunications issued a directive in November making the Sanchar Sathi app mandatory on phones used in India(BHARAT). The opposition has accused the app of spying.

What does the government say?

Scindia said, “Based on this, there’s no spying or call monitoring. If you want to, activate it. If you don’t, don’t activate it. If you want to keep it on your phone, keep it. If you want to delete it, delete it. If you don’t want to use Sanchar Sathi, delete it. You can delete it, there’s no problem.”

He said, “This is a matter of consumer safety. If you want to delete it, you can. It’s not mandatory. If you don’t want to use this app, don’t register. But not everyone in the country knows that this app exists to protect against theft and fraud. It’s our responsibility to make this app available to everyone. If you want to delete it, delete it. If you don’t want to use it, don’t register. If you don’t register, how will it be activated?”

Targeting the Opposition

The Union Minister targeted the opposition for protesting. He said, “When the opposition doesn’t have an issue and wants to find one, we can’t help them. Our responsibility is to help and protect consumers. What is Sanchar Sathi? Sanchar Sathi is an app, a portal, through which every consumer can manage their own security. This is a step towards public participation. People should welcome it, not object to it.”

He said, “Based on this, when you buy a mobile phone, you can check whether the IMEI number is fake or real using the Sanchar Saathi app. To date, the Sanchar Saathi portal has seen 200 million downloads. The app has over 15 million downloads. This is successful because every citizen of the country wants to be a partner in this campaign. They can ensure their own safety through public participation.”

He further informed, “To date, approximately 17 million fake connections have been disconnected based on this public participation. Nearly 2 million stolen phones have been traced. 750,000 stolen phones have been returned to consumers. Nearly 2.1 million phones have been disconnected based on consumer identification and reporting.”