Apple does not intend to comply with the Indian government’s confidential directive requiring smartphone makers to preload the state-owned cyber safety app Sanchar Saathi, a move that has triggered a major political row, according to the Reuters.
The government has instructed Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi to ensure that the app is preloaded on all smartphones within 90 days.
Sanchar Saathi is designed to track and block stolen phones, prevent their misuse, and tackle fraud linked to duplicated or spoofed IMEI numbers.
Apple will inform the government that it cannot follow the order because it does not accept such preloading requirements anywhere in the world, as they raise significant privacy and security concerns within the iOS ecosystem, the sources said.
Two sources familiar with Apple’s position said the company will privately communicate its objections but does not plan to take the matter to court or make a public statement, with one source describing the order as “not just a sledgehammer, but a double-barrel gun.”
India has issued the mandate amid rising incidents of cybercrime and hacking, aligning itself with governments such as Russia that have adopted similar rules targeting the use of stolen devices.
The directive triggered a political storm inside and outside Parliament on Tuesday, with several lawmakers accusing the government of using the app as a tool for surveillance.
Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, said he intended to raise the issue in Parliament.
The Congress Party demanded an immediate rollback of the order.
On X, Congress general secretary K. C. Venugopal wrote, “Big Brother cannot watch us.”
The telecom ministry defended the move, stating that Sanchar Saathi will help curb the resale of stolen or blacklisted devices in India’s large second-hand mobile phone market.
The ministry said the app will help reduce scams and “network misuse” involving fake IMEI numbers.
Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said users are not required to keep the app on their devices.
“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,” Scindia told reporters, stressing that the government was only ensuring wider access to a tool designed to curb cyber fraud.
However, CPI(M) MP John Brittas alleged that the government’s clarification that Sanchar Saathi is “optional” is merely an eye-wash.
He argued that true optionality cannot coexist with compulsory factory pre-installation, especially for millions of users with limited digital literacy, for whom a preloaded app effectively becomes permanent.
Brittas said there are widespread fears that data collection could begin the moment the app is preloaded and continue even after users delete it.
He stated that, when combined with the government’s recent directive mandating SIM-to-device binding for apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal and Snapchat, India is “staring at a real-time civilian traceability grid that maps our social lives and mobility in unprecedented detail.”
Apple, which maintains strict control over its App Store and iOS software, both crucial to its $100-billion-a-year services business , faces different constraints than Android manufacturers such as Samsung and Xiaomi, whose open-source platforms allow more flexibility.
The mandate arrives as Apple is battling an antitrust case in India and says it could face fines of up to $38 billion.
Other smartphone manufacturers, including Samsung, are still reviewing the directive.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi called Sanchar Saathi “a snooping app,” saying it violates citizens’ right to privacy.“Everyone must have the right to message family and friends without the government watching everything… They are turning this country into a dictatorship in every form,” she said.
Responding to allegations of surveillance, the BJP insisted the app is intended solely for consumer safety. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said Sanchar Saathi “cannot read messages, cannot listen to your calls, and cannot access personal data.”
He said the app’s purpose is to combat fraud, track lost or stolen phones, and enhance user security.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the app is another attempt by the BJP to “strangulate the voice of the people.”
He described the directive as “dictatorial,” arguing that preloading the app without consultation violates democratic norms.
Kharge accused the government of wanting to monitor private conversations and alleged India is entering a “dystopian era.”
He further alleged that the BJP is using “snooping, surveilling, scanning and peeping” to control citizens, pointing to changes in Income Tax laws, weakening of the RTI Act, and the Pegasus spyware scandal as evidence.
Sanchar Saathi is available as a mobile app and website. It allows users to block a stolen phone, check all mobile connections in their name, report suspected fraud through the Chakshu option, and trace a phone when a blocked device is used on a network.
The app can be downloaded from both Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store.
Sanchar Saathi works by using a phone’s IMEI number, a unique 15-digit identifier, to help track or authenticate a device.
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