Sanchar Saathi: Govt decides to remove clause making pre-installation of the app mandatory

The government has decided to not make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers. The Ministry of Communications has said that the intent was to provide access to cyber security to all citizens. “The app is secure and purely meant to help citizens from bad actors in the cyber world,” it said.

The ministry – referring to concerns about surveillance – said that there is no function other than protecting the users. It added that the decision to remove the mandatory pre-installation directive comes amid increasing acceptance of the Sanchar Saathi app. The app was downloaded 6 lakh times in one day, it said, indicating the faith of citizens for this app.

THE CONTENTIOUS POINT 7B

Most critics were concerned and highlighted issues with point 7B of the notification. 7B of the document stated: 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.

Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia, referring to point 7B of the Department of Telecom’s (DoT’s) notification for the pre-installment of the Sanchar Saathi app in mobile handsets, said that the directives have been misconstrued. He said the rumours must not be believed.

“Do not go by what the rumours are in the public domain. 7B also does not say that you cannot uninstall the app. The problem is that a lot of reality is lost if you don't go into the details,” said Scindia to reporters.

“What does 7B say? 7B only says that the phones should have the apps installed and there should be no hindrance for the user to be able to access them, and it should not be disabled so that the user cannot use it. Nowhere does 7B say that the user cannot delete the app,” he added.

Scindia further stated: “7B is not for users, it is for the installation of the app by the manufacturers. The problem is that it has been misconstrued to think that 7B is for the users, 7B is not for the users. The user can go to the app and delete it, like any other apps. So, let’s not misunderstand what 7B stands for.”