Grey areas in Sanchar Saathi stoke privacy fears, questions mount over need to preinstall app

The Centre’s directive to smartphone makers on preinstalling the state-developed Sanchar Saathi app on handsets has raised privacy and surveillance concerns over several grey areas that the department of telecommunications (DoT) has not addressed.

Seen in isolation, the initiative, originally launched as a portal in May 2023 and as an app in January this year, comes across as consumer-friendly as it allows smartphone users to check whether a device’s IMEI (a unique code for every handset) is genuine, report stolen phones and flag potential telecom fraud.