‘You can delete Sanchar Saathi as per your wish’: Scindia on govt’s tracking app after ‘snooping’ row

Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday strongly defended the government's Sanchar Saathi mobile application, reiterating that concerns over privacy are unfounded. “This app does not enable snooping or call monitoring. You can activate or deactivate it as per your wish... If you don't want Sanchar Saathi, you can delete it. It is optional,” he clarified.

Scindia pushed back against allegations that the platform enables surveillance, saying the criticism was manufactured and overlooked the app’s consumer-safety benefits amid the ongoing political debate over its purpose and design.

“When the opposition has no issues, and they are trying to find some, we cannot help them. Our duty is to help the consumers and ensure their safety,” the minister said, insisting that Sanchar Saathi was built to empower users, not monitor them.


Highlighting its widespread adoption, Scindia said, “Sanchar Saathi portal has more than 20 crore downloads, and the app has more than 1.5 crore downloads.” According to him, the tool has already played a crucial role in combating telecom fraud. “Sanchar Saathi has enabled the disconnection of nearly 1.75 crore fraudulent mobile connections. Around 20 lakh stolen phones have been traced, and around 7.5 lakh stolen phones have been handed over to their owners, all because of Sanchar Saathi,” he said.

Calling the app a key part of the government’s broader consumer-protection strategy, Scindia urged the public not to fall for “misconceptions.” “It is about customer protection. I want to clear all misconceptions... It is our duty to introduce this app to everyone. Keeping it on their devices or not is upto the user... It can be deleted from the mobil,” he said.

Despite the political sparring, the Communications Ministry maintains that Sanchar Saathi remains central to its efforts to curb digital fraud and safeguard mobile users nationwide.