'If you don't want Sanchar Saathi, you can delete it': Minister on govt's mobile tracking app after ‘snooping’ row

Sanchar Saathi app not mandatory, Centre clarifies; “keeping it in their devices or not, is up to the user,” says communications minister Scindia

Union minister for communications Jyotiraditya Scindia has clarified that the Sanchar Saathi app, which the government wants mandatorily pre-loaded on all phones, can be deleted by the user. He was speaking a day after the Indian government's directive to smartphone makers ignited privacy concerns.

“It is our duty to introduce this app to everyone. Keeping it in their devices or not, is up to the user,” Jyotiraditya Scindia said. (Reuters File Photo)

“If you don't want Sanchar Saathi, you can delete it. It is optional,” Scindia told news agency ANI on Tuesday, December 2.

“It is our duty to introduce this app to everyone. Keeping it in their devices or not, is up to the user,” he further said, terming it a move towards “digital security”.

The government has pitched the app as a means to “check the genuineness” of the phones being sold, and to be able to track the phone if lost. But privacy activists and the political Opposition led by the Congress termed it a “Big Brother” move for constant surveillance of citizens.

Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury filed an adjournment motion notice in the Rajya Sabha seeking suspension of all other business to discuss the Sanchar Saathi issue.

Reacting to that, ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s MP Shashank Mani Tripathi defended the Department of Telecommunications' (DoT) move to mandate the Sanchar Saathi app be pre-installed on mobile phones, saying it will enhance the sense of security.

"I'm from IIT, so I understand the types of cyber attacks that are taking place… This communication app will enhance people's sense of security. Our data won't escape, and every aspect of citizen protection that should be ensured will be digitally protected. I welcome this,” ANI quoted Tripathi as saying.

Using the Sanchar Saathi app and portal since 2023, over 26 lakh lost or stolen mobile handsets have been traced, according to data on its website.

The app's functionalities include reporting suspected fraud or unsolicited commercial communication, and malicious web links; blocking and tracking your lost phone; and finding out all mobile connections in your name, among other uses.

But even Shashi Tharoor, the Congress MP who has repeatedly differed with his party and sided with government moves lately, said making such an app or anything at all compulsory in a democracy “is troubling”.

"I need to look more into the logic of the government. The government should explain everything to the public instead of just passing an order via media reports. We need to have a discussion where the government reports the idea behind the decision…," Shashi Tharoor said, speaking to reporters in Parliament complex where the winter session is currently on.

Parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, however, said the Opposition was “manufacturing issues” to disturb the session's proceedings.

"All issues are important in their own right, but using them as a means to stall Parliament is not right... We will hold talks with opposition leaders. I am already in touch with them. We are not belittling their issues, but there are many issues in the country, not just one," he said.

While the “snooping app” issue came ip on Monday, the Opposition has mainly been pressing for discussions on what they term are “more people-centric issues”, such as the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls currently on in 12 states and UTs, national security after the Delhi blast, and air pollution. The government has refused so far to set a timeline for when these issues can be taken up in the session that's scheduled to last till December 19. This has led to repeated logjam and ruckus in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.