A TALE OF TWO STATE APPS
Concern as India orders phone manufacturers to preload govt app
By AFP
December 2, 2025
New Delhi has given manufacturers 90 days to comply with new rules saying the app "Sanchar Saathi" -- meaning communication partner in Hindi -- must be "pre-installed on all mobile handsets manufactured or imported for use in India" - Copyright AFP/File Idrees MOHAMMED
India has ordered smartphone makers to pre-install a government-run cyber security app that cannot be removed, a move that has raised concerns about users’ privacy.
The country has a massive 1.16 billion mobile phone users, according to government data from 2024, and authorities say the app will better protect them from fraud.
Late on Monday, New Delhi gave manufacturers 90 days to comply with new rules saying the app “Sanchar Saathi” — meaning communication partner in Hindi — must be “pre-installed on all mobile handsets manufactured or imported for use in India”.
The order, detailed in a press release, also asked phone makers to ensure the app was “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”.
The government said the app was designed to allow users to block and track lost or stolen phones.
It also lets them identify and disconnect fake mobile subscriptions made in their name, among other functions.
Government figures show the app has already helped trace more than 2.6 million phones.
However, rights advocates and politicians have sounded the alarm over potentially serious consequences.
Advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) said Tuesday it was concerned about the new directive.
The order “represents a sharp and deeply worrying expansion of executive control over personal digital devices”, it said in a statement on X.
“The state is asking every smartphone user in India to accept an open ended, updatable surveillance capability on their primary personal device, and to do so without the basic guardrails that a constitutional democracy should insist on,” the IFF said.
For devices that have already been manufactured and exist in the market across the country, the government mandated that “the manufacturer and importers of mobile handsets shall make an endeavour to push the App through software updates.”
Cyber security analyst Nikhil Pahwa said the rules were “clearly” an invasion of privacy.
“How do we know this app isn’t used to access files and messaging on our device, which is unencrypted on device? Or a future update won’t do that?” he said on X.
“This is clearly an invasion of our privacy,” he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s opponents in the Congress party demanded an immediate rollback of the order, calling the move unconstitutional.
“Big Brother cannot watch us,” Congress politician KC Venugopal said on X.
“A pre-loaded government app that cannot be uninstalled is a dystopian tool to monitor every Indian,” he added.
“It is a means to watch over every movement, interaction and decision of each citizen.”
In August, Russia issued a similar directive ordering manufacturers to include a new messaging platform called Max on all new phones and tablets, but rights advocates warned the app could be used as a powerful surveillance tool.
By AFP
December 2, 2025
New Delhi has given manufacturers 90 days to comply with new rules saying the app "Sanchar Saathi" -- meaning communication partner in Hindi -- must be "pre-installed on all mobile handsets manufactured or imported for use in India" - Copyright AFP/File Idrees MOHAMMED
India has ordered smartphone makers to pre-install a government-run cyber security app that cannot be removed, a move that has raised concerns about users’ privacy.
The country has a massive 1.16 billion mobile phone users, according to government data from 2024, and authorities say the app will better protect them from fraud.
Late on Monday, New Delhi gave manufacturers 90 days to comply with new rules saying the app “Sanchar Saathi” — meaning communication partner in Hindi — must be “pre-installed on all mobile handsets manufactured or imported for use in India”.
The order, detailed in a press release, also asked phone makers to ensure the app was “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”.
The government said the app was designed to allow users to block and track lost or stolen phones.
It also lets them identify and disconnect fake mobile subscriptions made in their name, among other functions.
Government figures show the app has already helped trace more than 2.6 million phones.
However, rights advocates and politicians have sounded the alarm over potentially serious consequences.
Advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) said Tuesday it was concerned about the new directive.
The order “represents a sharp and deeply worrying expansion of executive control over personal digital devices”, it said in a statement on X.
“The state is asking every smartphone user in India to accept an open ended, updatable surveillance capability on their primary personal device, and to do so without the basic guardrails that a constitutional democracy should insist on,” the IFF said.
For devices that have already been manufactured and exist in the market across the country, the government mandated that “the manufacturer and importers of mobile handsets shall make an endeavour to push the App through software updates.”
Cyber security analyst Nikhil Pahwa said the rules were “clearly” an invasion of privacy.
“How do we know this app isn’t used to access files and messaging on our device, which is unencrypted on device? Or a future update won’t do that?” he said on X.
“This is clearly an invasion of our privacy,” he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s opponents in the Congress party demanded an immediate rollback of the order, calling the move unconstitutional.
“Big Brother cannot watch us,” Congress politician KC Venugopal said on X.
“A pre-loaded government app that cannot be uninstalled is a dystopian tool to monitor every Indian,” he added.
“It is a means to watch over every movement, interaction and decision of each citizen.”
In August, Russia issued a similar directive ordering manufacturers to include a new messaging platform called Max on all new phones and tablets, but rights advocates warned the app could be used as a powerful surveillance tool.
ByAFP
November 30, 2025
Russian social media giant VK unveiled the app earlier this year
- Copyright AFP FADEL SENNA
A new Russian messaging platform that authorities hope will replace WhatsApp and Telegram is getting rave reviews from government officials, but on the streets of Moscow, reception has been mixed.
Max, released by Russian social media giant VK earlier this year, has been touted as a “super app” — capable of doing everything from accessing government services to ordering a pizza, similar to China’s WeChat or Alipay.
The government has directed manufacturers to include it on all new phones and tablets starting September 1, while simultaneously blocking calls on its foreign-owned rivals in what critics have called a brazen attempt to force users to switch.
Officials insist Max is safe and will cut Russia’s dependence on foreign-owned platforms that store data abroad, but rights advocates warn the app — which lacks end-to-end encryption — could be used as a powerful surveillance tool.
“I don’t trust it much,” said Ekaterina, a 39-year-old doctor who refused to give her last name.
Her employer required her to install the application for work but she mainly uses WhatsApp for personal communication, she said.
“There’s a personal history of messages that I don’t want to lose, as well as work-related communication,” she said of WhatsApp.
“I have many clients on it.”
– ‘I don’t see a problem’ –
Russians may not have much of a choice.
On Friday, media regulator Roskomnadzor announced it was considering fully banning WhatsApp, accusing it of being a vessel to perpetrate “crime”. It had already blocked calls on the platform from August.
WhatsApp, which boasts almost 100 million users in the country, accused Russia of wanting to ban it because it is “secure”.
“The situation is mixed,” 33-year-old Andrei Ivanov told AFP.
He said he feared information from WhatsApp could be “stolen by other countries”, but that it was “convenient to communicate there”.
“It is a certain restriction of our freedoms,” Ivanov said of the plans to strong-arm users into switching.
WhatsApp, owned by US technology giant Meta, uses end-to-end encryption. This means messages are scrambled when they leave the sender’s device and can only be read by the recipient.
The platform says it uses Meta’s servers to store encrypted messages while they are being delivered but deletes them once this is done, and has refused to hand them over to governments.
Some in Moscow were unconvinced, nonetheless.
“I understand that everything created abroad is now a threat to us,” said Russian pensioner Sergei Abramov, 67.
He said he saw no “big problem” if WhatsApp got shut down.
Maria Isakova, a 36-year-old designer, agreed.
“Our nation is inherently good at adapting to changing circumstances. We adapt — there are other messengers, there are alternatives to switch to,” she said.
“I don’t see any issues.”
A new Russian messaging platform that authorities hope will replace WhatsApp and Telegram is getting rave reviews from government officials, but on the streets of Moscow, reception has been mixed.
Max, released by Russian social media giant VK earlier this year, has been touted as a “super app” — capable of doing everything from accessing government services to ordering a pizza, similar to China’s WeChat or Alipay.
The government has directed manufacturers to include it on all new phones and tablets starting September 1, while simultaneously blocking calls on its foreign-owned rivals in what critics have called a brazen attempt to force users to switch.
Officials insist Max is safe and will cut Russia’s dependence on foreign-owned platforms that store data abroad, but rights advocates warn the app — which lacks end-to-end encryption — could be used as a powerful surveillance tool.
“I don’t trust it much,” said Ekaterina, a 39-year-old doctor who refused to give her last name.
Her employer required her to install the application for work but she mainly uses WhatsApp for personal communication, she said.
“There’s a personal history of messages that I don’t want to lose, as well as work-related communication,” she said of WhatsApp.
“I have many clients on it.”
– ‘I don’t see a problem’ –
Russians may not have much of a choice.
On Friday, media regulator Roskomnadzor announced it was considering fully banning WhatsApp, accusing it of being a vessel to perpetrate “crime”. It had already blocked calls on the platform from August.
WhatsApp, which boasts almost 100 million users in the country, accused Russia of wanting to ban it because it is “secure”.
“The situation is mixed,” 33-year-old Andrei Ivanov told AFP.
He said he feared information from WhatsApp could be “stolen by other countries”, but that it was “convenient to communicate there”.
“It is a certain restriction of our freedoms,” Ivanov said of the plans to strong-arm users into switching.
WhatsApp, owned by US technology giant Meta, uses end-to-end encryption. This means messages are scrambled when they leave the sender’s device and can only be read by the recipient.
The platform says it uses Meta’s servers to store encrypted messages while they are being delivered but deletes them once this is done, and has refused to hand them over to governments.
Some in Moscow were unconvinced, nonetheless.
“I understand that everything created abroad is now a threat to us,” said Russian pensioner Sergei Abramov, 67.
He said he saw no “big problem” if WhatsApp got shut down.
Maria Isakova, a 36-year-old designer, agreed.
“Our nation is inherently good at adapting to changing circumstances. We adapt — there are other messengers, there are alternatives to switch to,” she said.
“I don’t see any issues.”
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