India govt's attempts to mandate 24/7 phone tracking faces pushback

Stakeholders criticise move as eroding privacy, exposing data to breach or misuse

- Rohini Mohan

The Indian government is increasingly eager to collect real-time personal data on its one billion people, but some of its digital surveillance attempts are facing pushback from smartphone manufacturers like Apple and sections of civil society concerned about privacy violations.

Recent government notifications have tried to mandate round-the-clock tracking of all phones in the country in multiple ways, purportedly to address cybercrime and strengthen national security.

However, phone makers, digital companies and privacy advocates have criticised the attempts at constant surveillance as eroding digital privacy and exposing mass volumes of personal data to breach or misuse. On the flip side, Indian telecommunications companies support some of these measures, which could boost their revenues.

India is the world's second-biggest mobile market, with 735 million smartphones and around one billion internet subscribers.

On Nov 28, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) mandated that mobile manufacturers and importers must preload a government app called Sanchar Saathi on all new devices. First launched in 2023, the app was intended as a lost phone tracker and is now deemed to be able to help determine if stolen phones have been misused for cybercrime.

However, its mandatory installation raised significant privacy concerns as it demands full access to features such as the device's camera, Global Positioning System location, and even torch, and cannot be deleted nor restricted.

Experts who examined the app cautioned that such unavoidable and irrevocable permissions deepen state presence on personal devices and undermine privacy.

Unlike the US and much of Europe, where security services on devices are optional and built on a foundation of user consent, India's approach is more in line with countries like Russia, which has mandated a similar state-run app.