---
title: India mandates use of cybersecurity app on phones - Developing Telecoms
description: India has announced that, in future, all mobile phones will need to be preloaded with a government app called Sanchar Saathi (meaning Communication Companion) to ensure cybersafety.
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India has announced that, in future, all mobile phones will need to be preloaded with a government app called Sanchar Saathi (meaning Communication Companion) to ensure cybersafety.

The government app allows users to report suspicious calls, verify IMEIs and block stolen devices through a central registry.

The order, made at the end of last week, gives major smartphone companies 90 days to ensure that the government's app is pre-installed on new mobile phones. they must also ensure that users cannot disable it.

For devices already in the supply chain, the order requires manufacturers to push the app to phones via software updates.

Reuters suggests that at least one of the major phone makers, Apple, will be unhappy about this directive. Its internal policies apparently prohibit installation of any government or third-party app before sale of a smartphone. It does, however, pre-install its own proprietary apps on phones.

Apple has apparently disagreed with the Indian telecoms regulator in the past, notably over development of a government anti-spam mobile app,

The government says that Sanchar Saathi helps a mobile subscriber to check the number of mobile connections taken in his or her name and to report any connection that is either not required or not taken by the subscriber.

It combats the threat of duplicate or spoofed International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers, which enable scams and network misuse.

The IMEI, which is unique to each handset, can be used to cut off network access for phones reported to have been stolen.

So far the app has, apparently, been fairly successful. Reuters says that the app has helped block more than 3.7 million stolen or lost mobile phones, while more than 30 million fraudulent connections have also been terminated. Since January it has helped to recover more than 700,000 lost phones.

Still, this is a market of more than 1.2 billion subscribers, and the government is no doubt keen to encourage more use of the app.

Reuters quotes sources that suggest there may have been little or no consultation with companies before the order was issued.

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