India has discontinued its plan to mandate pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app on new smartphones due to privacy concerns and industry pushback. The government claims the app aims to prevent fraud and theft, but critics worry it could give authorities access to users’ devices. #SancharSaathi #privacyconcerns
Keypoints
- India initially mandated the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app on new phones but later withdrew the requirement.
- The app is designed to combat phone theft and fraud by enabling device verification and reporting stolen phones.
- Industry giants like Apple expressed security concerns over mandatory installation, citing potential compromise of iOS security.
- Privacy groups criticized the policy for potentially allowing government access to hundreds of millions of devices.
- The government maintains the app is secure, optional for users to remove, and solely aimed at cybersecurity protection.
Read More: https://therecord.media/india-drops-mandate-sanchar-saathi-app-privacy-surveillance