Sanchar Saathi becomes compulsory on new phones: Users, privacy & industry-What changes now?

India(BHARAT) is requiring phone manufacturers to pre-install a government app called Sanchar Saathi on all smartphones sold in the country.

The order from the Telecom Minister requires that all smartphones sold in India(BHARAT) after a compliance window of 90 days (i.e. after January 28, 2026) must come with the app preinstalled. And, critically, it cannot be deleted or disabled by the user. Existing devices in the supply chain will be required to receive the app through a software update before the end consumer.

Why the government is doing this?

At the heart of the mandate are several issues India(BHARAT) has struggled with in telecoms and cybersecurity: fake or cloned device identifiers, lost or stolen handsets, and fraudulently used mobile network connections. India(BHARAT) is one of the world’s largest smartphone markets with over 1.2 billion mobile subscribers – a key target for scammers using SIM-boxing or otherwise exploiting spoofed International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers.

Authorities claim Sanchar Saathi has been effective in addressing these issues since its launch in January 2025: over 700,000 lost and stolen phones recovered using the app, including 50,000 in October alone. And they claim that more than 30 million fraudulent connections have been terminated and millions of stolen phones blocked from rejoining the network, with help of the central IMEI-registry infrastructure that underlies the app.

Why manufacturers – and some users – may push back

The order is certain to elicit pushback from many of the biggest smartphone manufacturers, in particular those like Apple that typically resist mandatory pre-installation of third-party or government apps.

Privacy advocates and some consumers have also raised alarm bells at what they say is an unwarranted assumption of user consent and a brazen state imposition on user choice.

For phone manufacturers, there are also some significant logistical and policy implications. Chief among them: how the directive aligns with companies’ global product standards, compliance frameworks, and customer-experience principles. Supply chain and product rollout operations may also be disrupted in the 90-day window, with time-sensitive complications for manufacturers preparing global launches for India(BHARAT). These range from cost and time issues in modifying software images for phone shipments to retailers, to last-minute operational issues at certification laboratories testing the devices.

What this means for smartphone users?

If you buy a new smartphone after the 90-day window, it will come with the Sanchar Saathi app pre-installed – whether you like it or not. You won’t be able to remove or disable the app, but it’s being positioned as a security utility: the app allows for tracking and blocking stolen handsets, safeguards users against fraud and networks against fraudulent SIM boxes, and establishes a single common framework across carriers to enable detection and reporting of suspicious activities.

On devices that have already shipped but are still in the sales pipeline, users may instead receive the app in a software update pushed from manufacturers. In that case, the broader debate may become entangled with issues around privacy, transparency, and user consent.

A big change for India(BHARAT)’s smartphone ecosystem

The app requirement is a watershed moment in India(BHARAT)’s rapidly evolving smartphone market. In other countries, manufacturers and carriers have opted for voluntary utilities or left it up to users to download their own tools for protecting against mobile-related fraud. In India(BHARAT), a sign of things to come: the expansion from voluntary to mandatory, state-backed security apps directly baked into smartphone hardware. It’s also a move that is likely to reverberate in a country where every smartphone user doubles as a potential digital wallet holder, identity owner, and command center for sensitive personal banking, social, and communications data.