Experts "deeply concerned" by India's plan to force all smartphones to run pre-installed security app

• India issued an order to pre-install a state-owned app on all smartphones
• The move has attracted backlash due to privacy concerns
• The government said it's a way to halt cybercrime and hacking

India's telecoms ministry is forcing smartphone providers to install a state-owned security app, attracting strong criticism on privacy grounds.

The November 28 directive, which was first reported by Reuters, requires smartphone makers to preload all new devices with the Sanchar Saathi app, while existing phones will have to download the application via a software update. Crucially, users won't be able to delete the software from their phone.

The Indian government said the move is intended to tackle the recent surge in cybercrime and hacking incidents.

While Apple, Google, Samsung, and other phone-making firms have so far kept quiet, digital rights groups are "deeply concerned" about the requirement, which they believe could jeopardize people's rights.

Although the full text of the order is still unavailable, the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) argues that such an order represents "a sharp and deeply worrying" expansion of executive control over citizens' digital devices.

"Today, the app may be framed as a benign IMEI checker. Tomorrow, through a server-side update, it could be repurposed for client-side scanning for 'banned' applications, flag VPN usage, correlate SIM activity, or trawl SMS logs in the name of fraud detection," the civil society organization wrote in a statement.

We approached Apple and Google for comments and will update the page as soon as we hear back.

What is the Sanchar Saathi app and why it could be bad for privacy

Indian tech publication MediaNama has reported that the Sanchar Saathi app stems from an initiative from India's Department of Telecommunications and is designed to help users protect their devices against malicious activities, such as online fraud, theft, and other crimes.

Citizens can use the app to report scams in real-time, enabling authorities to track and respond to cybercrime in a more effective way.

While the application may prove useful, experts are critical of the disregard for user choice. As IFF argues: "This converts every smartphone sold in India into a vessel for state mandated software that the user cannot meaningfully refuse, control, or remove."

IFF’s comments echo concerns raised by technology lawyer Mishi Choudhary, who told Reuters: "The government effectively removes user consent as a meaningful choice."

However, concerns extend beyond user choice. There is a real risk that current or future governments could expand the app's scope, effectively turning it into a surveillance tool, which would compromise privacy even for those using one of the best VPN services.

As the IFF notes, "Nothing in the order constrains these possibilities."

The IFF has now filed a complaint with India's telecoms body and says it will keep fighting "until it is rescinded." It now remains to be seen if the likes of Apple and Google will also follow suit in challenging the order.

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