The government's cyber security and safety app, Sanchar Saathi, saw a tenfold surge in downloads on Tuesday, jumping from an average of around 60,000 per day to nearly 6 lakh, DoT sources said on Wednesday.
The spike came amid criticism from Opposition leaders and some industry experts, who alleged that the Department of Telecom’s (DoT) order to mandatorily pre-install the app on all mobile phones is intended for “snooping” and violates citizens’ privacy.
"There has been very good response to the Sanchar Saathi App from the public suddenly. The download on a single day jumped 10 times to around 6 lakh from an average of 60,000 a day," a DoT source, who did not wish to be named, told PTI.
Official data indicates that 1.5 crore people had already downloaded the app even before the order was issued.
The order, dated November 28, mandates that all mobile phone manufacturers pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on handsets sold in India and on existing devices via software updates. It also requires manufacturers to ensure that the app is “readily visible and accessible” to users at the time of first use or device setup, and that “its functionalities are not disabled or restricted.”
Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia emphasised that users remain free to delete the app if they choose.
DoT sources clarified that the phrases "readily visible and accessible" and "functionalities are not disabled or restricted" are instructions for manufacturers, not restrictions on users.
"It simply means manufacturers must not hide, cripple or pre-install a non-functional version of the app and later claim compliance. Nowhere it has been mentioned in the above clause that the Sanchar Saathi App cannot be uninstalled by the end user. It is up to the citizen if he wants to enable and register Sanchar Saathi Mobile App or wants to uninstall," a source said.
The sources added that the app has limited access to phone data, and only to the extent permitted by citizens during each “interaction of reporting fraud.”
Like other apps, Sanchar Saathi requests permission to "make & manage phone calls" to check the active SIM before registration and to send an SMS to complete registration.
"This is a one-time SMS, similar to OTP verification processes used by banking apps, UPI applications, and communication platforms. The app does not use this for anything else that may be enabled by this permission," the source said.
The app also requires camera access to capture images of products such as the IMEI number on the box, or screenshots of fraud calls or messages, as submitted by the user.
"The app is designed not to have any access to contacts, other apps, location, microphone, bluetooth, or any other private functionalities or data of the user that is specifically not permitted by the user in 'every interaction of reporting fraud' of the user with the app. The app does not harvest any other data on its own based on permissions granted. Further, citizens have the choice to remove any permission any time or deregister any mobile number registered on the app and also to uninstall the App," the source said.
DoT sources reiterated that the app never accesses microphone, location, bluetooth, or the operating system.
"The Sanchar Saathi app has limited access to phone data and that too only to the extent citizens permit it in each 'interaction of reporting fraud'," the source said.
Amol Kulkarni, Director for Research at think tank CUTS International, said that while the app’s intentions are good, mandating its pre-installation without prior public consultation raises concerns about citizens being expected to trust the government blindly.
Sanjeev Kumar, Senior Partner at Luthra and Luthra Law Offices India, said the government's rationale stems from a serious telecom security challenge.
"The primary stated goal is to verify genuine mobile handsets via their IMEI numbers, creating a national framework to crack down on spoofed or tampered devices -- a major entry point for cybercrime. The app features tools for reporting stolen phones, fraudulent communications, and suspicious connections," Kumar said.
He added that the push for pre-installation comes amid what authorities call a "peak menace" of digital arrest scams, where criminals posing as law enforcement officials extort victims financially.
"The issue has reached such a height that the Supreme Court recently took the extraordinary step of directing the CBI to investigate all such scams, overriding state consent -- a signal of its national urgency. The government positions Sanchar Saathi as a robust, frontline defense and complaint mechanism for vulnerable citizens, especially seniors targeted by these scams," Kumar said.