"Sanchar Saathi App Not Mandatory", Says Jyotiraditya Scindia Amid Privacy Row

Delhi: The Sanchaar Saathi mobile app is not mandatory and can be deleted, said Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday, while the row escalated.

Scindia added that keeping the app is up to individuals, and it can be deleted from smartphones.

“If you don’t want Sanchar Saathi, you can delete it. It is optional… It is our duty to introduce this app to everyone. Keeping it in their devices or not is up to the user,” the Union Minister said. He also added that the “platform does not enable snooping or call monitoring”.

Scindia’s clarification comes as the Centre’s move to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi mobile application on all new mobile handsets manufactured or imported for use in India was seen as a breach of privacy. Criticising the move, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra called it a “violation of privacy and a step toward authoritarian governance”.

Union government said that "it aims to safeguard the citizens from buying non-genuine items. As per the guidelines, issued on November 28, mobile manufacturers and importers have to ensure that the pre-installed Sanchar Saathi application is readily visible and accessible to the end users at the time of first use or device setup and that its functionalities are not disabled or restricted.”

All devices that have been manufactured and are in sales channels in India, the manufacturer and importers of mobile handsets shall endeavour to push the app through software updates.

The companies have to complete the implementation in 90 days and submit a report in 120 days. DoT is undertaking the Sanchar Saathi initiative for curbing the misuse of telecom resources for cyber fraud and ensuring telecom cybersecurity.

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