India’s telecoms ministry has quietly ordered that all new smartphones sold in the country arrive with the government’s Sanchar Saathi app preloaded and non-removable. This is not a small administrative tweak; it’s an aggressive move that will reshape device manufacturing, user privacy conversations, and the relationship between governments and tech giants. The order gives manufacturers 90 days to comply and covers major players from Samsung and Xiaomi to Oppo, Vivo — and yes, it will rattle Apple.
What the order actually does
The app does several things: it helps users verify IMEI numbers, report suspicious calls, and block stolen devices through a central registry. According to government figures, Sanchar Saathi has been downloaded over 5 million times, helped recover more than 700,000 lost phones — 50,000 in October alone — and been used to block more than 3.7 million devices. Over 30 million fraudulent connections have reportedly been terminated. Those are headline-grabbing numbers. They also provide the government with a persuasive public-safety narrative to justify its directive.
But the technical and policy implications are significant. The order mandates pre-installation and prevents users from uninstalling the app. Devices already produced but still in the supply chain must receive the app through software updates. For Android-based phones, that is feasible. For iPhones, it collides directly with Apple’s long-standing policy: the company does not allow third-party or government apps to be bundled before sale. Historically, Apple has dug its heels in on this kind of thing. Expect negotiations, hard stances, and a search for middle-ground solutions.
Why IMEIs matter — and why the app is pitched as necessary
The International Mobile Equipment Identity, the IMEI, is a 14- to 17-digit number that uniquely identifies every handset. When phones are stolen or used to perpetrate scams, blocking the IMEI can cut off network access and reduce criminal utility. That is a clear benefit. The government frames Sanchar Saathi as a tool to prevent spoofed IMEIs and to stem the flow of counterfeit devices into the black market. It’s a public-safety intervention dressed as a technical control.
‘We need tools to stop impersonation and fraud. This app helps us do that,’ a government official might say. ‘It saves phones, protects consumers, and helps law enforcement.’
That sentiment resonates, especially in a market with more than a billion subscribers. It is easy to feel sympathetic. Yet sympathy is not the same as surrender. Trade-offs are unavoidable.
Where rights, privacy, and vendor policies collide
Mandating a non-removable app raises immediate privacy and user autonomy questions. If the app is a central registry and a reporting tool, who controls access to the data it collects? How durable are promises that the system will only be used for legitimate public-safety purposes? These are not rhetorical concerns. They are practical, and they matter deeply to users and to vendors who must keep customer trust.
Apple’s resistance is predictable because its device model and privacy narrative are tightly coupled. Android vendors can and often do pre-install third-party services at the factory. But forcing an app onto every device sold raises the specter of creeping government controls: what starts as a safety utility could be extended to other functions over time. Once a precedent is set, rolling back becomes politically expensive.
A pragmatic perspective from the SME world
I advise Singapore SMEs on digital risk and I have seen how quickly trust erodes when policies are imposed without visible safeguards. Years ago, a small retailer called me after several employees complained that a security app pushed by their device manager was draining batteries and sending telemetry back to an unknown server. They were frightened and angry. That episode taught me that technology rollouts require transparency, clear opt-outs when possible, and a communicative strategy that addresses employee and customer concerns.
This is precisely why India’s move needs accompaniment: clear legal guarantees about data retention, independent auditing of the app’s code and servers, secure handling of IMEI and personal data, and a public accountability mechanism. Without these, a tool that can legitimately curb fraud risks becoming a vector for misuse.
What manufacturers and consumers should expect
- Negotiations with Apple: Expect pushback and alternatives. Apple may seek to offer a nudge rather than a forced install, or propose an architecture that keeps the app sandboxed and subject to Apple’s own privacy controls.
- Firmware and update workflows: For Android OEMs, the logistics are manageable — but supply-chain timelines will be disrupted. Manufacturers must push updates to stock already produced and reconcile their own bloatware policies with a government mandate.
- Regulatory precedent: Other countries will watch. Governments that want stronger control over telecom infrastructure will see this move as a blueprint.
Final thought: safety must not be a one-way street
Preloading Sanchar Saathi is a blunt instrument with measurable benefits. It recovers phones and blocks fraudulent connections. It also raises serious questions about user agency, cross-border device policy, and corporate sovereignty. The state can and should act to protect citizens and networks. But protection without transparency breeds suspicion. If the government pairs mandatory tools with demonstrable privacy guarantees, independent oversight, and a clear sunset on intrusive features, this could be a case study in effective public-private cooperation. Without those guardrails, it will feel like a lock without a key — and users will push back, loudly.
Devices are personal. Control over them should be personal too. Mandates that affect millions of users deserve nothing less than ironclad safeguards and dialogue that includes the people most affected: the users themselves.