The government on Wednesday withdrew its directive requiring smartphone makers to pre-install a state-run cybersecurity application on all new devices, as it moved to quell rising concerns that the measure could have compromised user privacy or enabled surveillance.The Sanchar Saathi app, which the government says only helps track and block stolen phones and prevents them from being misused, will, however, continue to be available on app stores for voluntary downloads. āThe government has decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers,ā the communications ministry said.
The move follows protests from opposition parties and privacy advocates who felt the app could listen to calls as well as read messages. āThe number of users has been increasing rapidly, and the mandate to install the app was meant to accelerate this process and make the app available to less aware citizens easily. Just in the last one day, 6 lakh citizens have registered for downloading the app, which is a 10x increase in its uptake,ā the ministry said.