National Desk
4 December
Journalist Sandeep Dhand
Ludhiana
The government on Wednesday announced the withdrawal of its order that required mobile phone manufacturers to pre-install the cyber security app ‘Sanchar Saathi’ on all new smartphones. The decision came just a day after a massive increase in voluntary downloads of the app was recorded.
According to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the earlier order was meant to speed up the availability of the app and make it easily accessible for less aware users. However, the department noted that citizens themselves showed great interest in the app without any compulsion.
In an official statement, the DoT said that within just one day, six lakh people registered to download the app, which is a ten-fold jump in usage. Seeing this rapid rise in acceptance and public trust, the government decided that compulsory pre-installation was no longer necessary.
The Sanchar Saathi app helps users track lost or stolen phones and protects them from cyber fraud. The government believes that the strong positive response from the public shows increasing awareness about digital safety.
With the order now withdrawn, users can continue to download the app voluntarily from official platforms, while smartphone companies are no longer required to install it in advance.