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Sanchar Saathi cybersecurity app is optional, users may delete if they want: Jyotiraditya Scindia

Consumers will be free to delete the Sanchar Saathi app preloaded on new smartphones, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia clarified, after the DoT directed manufacturers to install the cybersecurity tool on all devices.

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Dec 2, 2025 01:19 PM IST

Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia has said the Sanchar Saathi is not a mandatory app. (file photo).

Consumers who buy mobile phones preloaded with the Sanchar Saathi security app will have the option to delete it as it is optional. Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia said keeping the app on their phones will be the users’ choice.

“If you don’t want the Sanchar Saathi app, you can delete it. It is optional… It is our duty to introduce this app to everyone. Keeping it in their devices or not, is up to the user,” Scindia told reporters outside Parliament on Tuesday.

Govt had earlier ordered ‘Sanchar Saathi must be non-removable’

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Monday had directed smartphone manufacturers in India to preload the government-developed cybersecurity app on all devices. The directive had specified that the app, which lets users report spam calls, fraudulent messages and stolen phones, must be made non-removable.

The DoT has told manufacturers that every new handset sold in the country must come with the ‘Sanchar Saathi’ app already installed. For devices already in the market, companies have been asked to introduce the app through a software update.

Smartphone makers had been asked to comply with the directive within three months.

What is the Sanchar Saathi app?

The Sanchar Saathi app is currently available on both the Apple and Google app stores as an optional download. If the new directive is enforced, however, it would be preloaded on new smartphones or delivered via software updates to existing users.

Launched in January this year, the app had crossed 50 lakh downloads by August. A government release in September said more than 37.28 lakh lost or stolen mobile phones had been blocked using the platform, while over 22.76 lakh devices had been traced.

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Sanchar Saathi enables users to locate and block stolen phones anywhere in the country through their IMEI number — a unique 15-digit identifier used by mobile networks to authenticate devices. The app can also support police investigations and helps reduce the circulation of counterfeit phones. Users can additionally flag suspicious calls, texts or messages on platforms like WhatsApp.

Congress slams govt order

Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury said the Sanchar Saathi app mandate was another step towards “snatching the freedom of citizens”. “They [Centre] are talking about national security now. What happened to national security when two men breached Parliament security with passes issued by them,” she asked.

Chowdhury further said, “India has one of the highest percentages of cybercrime. What are you doing? This is not the way to do it [fix cybersecurity issues]. Not just personal life, but this app will affect business and commerce too.”

VIDEO | Parliament winter session 2025: Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury (@RenukaCCongress) on the Sanchar Saathi app said, “India has one of the highest percentages of cybercrime. Not just personal life, but this app will affect business and commerce too.”

(Full video available on… pic.twitter.com/yRsoMhx4hK

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 2, 2025

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