The Indian government has officially rescinded a controversial mandate that would have forced smartphone manufacturers to ship new devices with a state-run cybersafety tool preloaded.
The decision, confirmed by India’s telecoms ministry on Wednesday, marks a swift policy reversal following significant resistance from global tech giants and privacy advocates. The initial directive, issued confidentially on Nov. 28, set a 90-day deadline for vendors to integrate the Sanchar Saathi app into their firmware, with the stipulation that users must not be allowed to delete it.
The withdrawal ends a brief but tense standoff between New Delhi and major handset makers, most notably Apple and Samsung, regarding device security and user autonomy.
Industry giants unite in resistance
While the order applied to all major players, including Xiaomi and Oppo, resistance was spearheaded by the industry’s two largest powers: Apple and Samsung.
As first reported by Reuters on Tuesday, Apple executives intended to tell government officials that the company would not adhere to the mandate. Sources close to the situation indicated that Apple refuses to entertain such preloading requirements in any market, arguing that allowing undeletable third-party software creates dangerous vulnerabilities within the iOS ecosystem.
Samsung, one of India’s largest smartphone brands, reportedly joined Apple in resisting the directive. According to the BBC, both companies argued that the order was issued without prior consultation and challenged established norms regarding user privacy and device manufacturing.
One industry insider characterized the government’s tactics as “not only like taking a sledgehammer, [it] is like a double-barrel gun,” highlighting the aggressive nature of the requirement.
This unified front from the market leaders, who together command a significant share of India’s premium smartphone segment, appears to have forced the government’s hand.
Government pivots to ‘voluntary’ adoption
In the statement retracting the order, the government shifted its stance from mandatory compliance to voluntary adoption. Officials attributed the change to the app’s “increasing acceptance” rather than corporate pushback.
The telecoms ministry stated that the preinstallation requirement is no longer mandatory because the app is already seeing rapid uptake. According to official figures, the platform saw a tenfold increase in activity on Tuesday, with 600,000 new registrations in a single day.
“The app is secure and purely meant to help citizens from bad actors in the cyber world,” the government noted in its release, stressing that the tool is designed for tracking lost hardware rather than surveillance. Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also pushed back against privacy concerns, asserting, “Snooping is neither possible nor will it happen with the Sanchar Saathi safety app.”
What is Sanchar Saathi?
The dispute centers on Sanchar Saathi, a centralized platform launched earlier this year to address India’s rampant issues with device theft and SIM fraud. The system enables users to:
- Block lost or stolen handsets across all telecom networks via IMEI.
- Check the authenticity of used devices before purchase.
- Detect and report fraudulent mobile connections registered in their name.
Government statistics suggest the initiative has been successful, helping to recover more than 700,000 devices and disconnect millions of fraudulent SIMs. However, critics and opposition lawmakers warned that a permanent, undeletable version of the software could serve as a backdoor for state surveillance, drawing comparisons to Russia’s recent order to preload the government-supported “MAX” messenger app.
A pattern of regulatory unpredictability
For global enterprises operating in India, this incident reinforces the unpredictable nature of the country’s regulatory landscape.
This marks the second time in two years that the Modi administration has introduced a major tech mandate only to withdraw it shortly thereafter. In 2024, the government scrapped a plan to require a license for laptop imports after intense lobbying from the US government and hardware vendors.
While the immediate supply chain disruption has been avoided, the event highlights the friction between India’s ambitions for digital sovereignty and its desire to attract foreign tech investment. Apple, which considers India a vital growth market, remains entangled in a separate antitrust dispute with local regulators that could result in a fine of up to $38 billion.
