India's New Spyware Mandate Sets A Dangerous Precedent

The government of India released an order that all smartphones manufactured for Indian citizens must come with a pre-installed government app. This app, known as Sanchar Saathi, is supposed to protect against phone-based crime such as stealing smartphones or miscellaneous telecom scams. India's Department of Telecommunications (DOT) specified that this app cannot be disabled or restricted by users, and that phone manufacturers would have to submit a comprehensive compliance report within 120 days of the order.

This was met with backlash, with some feeling that this was a privacy infringement and that this app could easily be used to track people's movements and collect data from the phone. In response, a few days later, the DOT released a new statement stating that because users are already accepting this app, the pre-installation mandate does not need to be imposed on phone manufacturers.

This entire situation has caused a great deal of concern regarding the government infringing on the privacy of its citizens under the guise of wanting to prevent crimes. Though there are ways to find and remove spyware from your Android phone, this app won't be so simple. It may bring to mind Big Brother from the novel 1984 by author George Orwell, where citizens were constantly under surveillance. It also sets a dangerous precedent for individual rights being limited based on a culture of fear and protection.

Lawyer Mishi Choudhary practices in New York and New Delhi. She works as the Legal Director for the Software Freedom Law Center in New York and is the founder of the SFLC.in non-profit that specializes in online civil liberties. Regarding the Sanchar Saathi app, she had plenty to say in an interview with ABP Live. She stated that "This is yet another example of using 'Directives' to take away user autonomy, make a mockery of consent and have 24 hours State in My Home measure." In regard to the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) first stating the app should be mandatory and then stepping back on that order, she said, "The government keeps toggling between mandatory-voluntary as it builds facts ... ", and that such a move is not supported by the constitution.

Apple itself said it won't comply with this mandate for its iPhones sold in India. Unfortunately, there was no response from Google regarding its Android phones or privacy concerns for its customer base. The Indian DOT did state in its directive that people are actively downloading and using the Sanchar Saathi app, so not everyone feels that it is an infringement on their privacy.

Members of India's government and other activist groups have spoken out against this app. It is being equated with the government snooping on its own citizens. Since it has built-in location tracking, concerns have been raised about tracking people's movements to know where anyone is at any given time.

This is certainly not the first time the capabilities of smartphones have been capitalized on by governments to monitor citizens. In early 2025, Russia ordered an app referred to as Max to be pre-installed on all Russian phones, and this app could share personal phone data with the government. This app was under the guise of being an alternative to the secure messaging platform known as WhatsApp.

Lawyer Mishi Choudhary pointed out in her interview that the capabilities of such an app could gradually be increased over time. It might first get introduced as something to protect people from crime, but such surveillance can be expanded upon and slowly erode away basic privacy rights.

With governments in Russia and India issuing mandates for smartphone apps, it can cause worry about other governments doing the same. ICE already tracks people's cars with an app that combines Motorola's traffic cameras and personal citizen data sold by Thomson Reuters. While the Indian DOT stepping back on the manufacturing mandate can be seen as a positive, its statement that this was because people were already accepting the app can make you wonder what will happen if people choose to stop accepting it.