Pre-install Sanchar Saathi app on new phones by March 2026, DoT tells phone makers

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Monday (December 1, 2025) ordered smartphone manufacturers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on new devices sold from March 2026, and to make sure “that [the app’s] functionalities are not disabled or restricted”. The Hindu has viewed a copy of the directions. The Sanchar Saathi app will be used to “verify authenticity of IMEIs used in mobile devices,” the order said. It is unclear if the app will have access to the IMEI number of devices it is pre-installed on, or if users will have to input the hardware identifier on their own.

In a statement, the DoT said the move was meant to “safeguard the citizens from buying the non-genuine handsets, enabling easy reporting of suspected misuse of telecom resources and to increase effectiveness of the Sanchar Saathi initiative”. The Sanchar Saathi app, first introduced as a portal in 2023, has been used to report scam calls, enable users to identify SIM cards registered in their name, and remotely disable phones after they are stolen.

This is the third order the DoT has sent after the notification of the Telecom Cyber Security Rules, 2024, which were amended earlier this year with provisions on regulating nearly any service that uses mobile numbers. On Friday, the government ordered messaging platforms to perform “SIM binding,” restricting apps like WhatsApp to devices containing the SIM card used to sign up for the service. Friday’s order also required WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram and other platforms like it to log users out of web-based interfaces every six hours.