The Union government now wanted the Sanchaar Saathi app to be pre-installed on every mobile phone in India. The Department of Telecommunications had issued a directive to all smartphone manufacturers, sparking intense debate and privacy concerns across the country. Critics, digital rights activists, and opposition parties warn that this move could pave the way for mass surveillance, government tracking, and unprecedented access to citizens’ personal data. After backlash, the Union Government has withdrawn the move and has said pre-installation of the government mandated app is not mandatory.
But why does the government want Sanchaar Saathi on your device? What information can the app collect? And how will this impact your digital privacy and data protection rights?
To break it all down, this week on In Public Interest, TNM’s Senior News Editor, Shabbir Ahmed speaks to Nikhil Pahwa, founder and editor of MediaNama, one of India’s leading voices on tech policy, surveillance laws, and digital freedom. We unpack what’s really going on and why one should be worried about rules being brought without public consultation.