India tells smartphone makers to put state-run cyber safety app on new devices

"India has ordered all new smartphones to come pre-loaded with a state-run cybersecurity app, sparking privacy and surveillance concerns. Under the order - passed last week but made public on Monday - smartphone makers have 90 days to ensure all new devices come with the government's Sanchar Saathi app, whose "functionalities cannot be disabled or restricted". It says this is necessary to help citizens verify the authenticity of a handset and report the suspected misuse of telecom resources."

"The move - which comes in one of the world's largest phone markets, with more than 1.2 billion mobile users - has been criticised by cyber experts, who say it breaches citizens' right to privacy. Under the app's privacy policy, it can make and manage phone calls, send messages, access call and message logs, photos and files as well as the phone's camera."

""In plain terms, this converts every smartphone sold in India into a vessel for state mandated software that the user cannot meaningfully refuse, control, or remove," advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation said in a statement. Amid the growing criticism, India's Minister of Communications Jyotiradtiya Scindia has clarified that mobile phone users will have the option to delete this app if they don't want to use it."

India has ordered that all new smartphones be preloaded with the state-run Sanchar Saathi cybersecurity app, requiring manufacturers to comply within 90 days. The order mandates that the app's functionalities cannot be disabled or restricted, while the government says the app helps verify IMEI numbers, report lost or stolen phones, and flag suspected telecom misuse. The app's privacy policy grants access to calls, messages, call and message logs, photos, files, and the camera. Cyber experts and civil liberties groups argue the requirement breaches privacy by converting devices into vessels for state-mandated, non-removable software. The communications minister stated users can delete the app, but did not clarify how that aligns with the non-disableable mandate.

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