Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani stated on Tuesday that matters related to the Sanchar Saathi app have been discussed with all mobile phone manufacturers in a working group, with the exception of Apple.
Rational behind making it mandatory
The Minister explained that the Sanchar Saathi app is like any other application, which consumers can activate and delete. Its primary purposes include easing the process of reporting online fraud and tracing lost mobile phones.
Pemmasani highlighted that the app’s crowdsourced data is crucial for preventing financial fraud. He noted that allowing the app on almost all mobile phones would significantly improve the accuracy of the information, enabling quicker action against fraud.
"A working group was formed, and all the original equipment manufacturers were asked to raise their concerns. Apple is the only company, as far as I know, that did not participate in that working group, but all others participated," Pemmasani said.
According to industry sources, Apple is expected to discuss the order regarding the Sanchar Saathi app installation and work towards a compromise. The company may not be able to implement the current order as it stands. Previously, Apple had resisted supporting certain functions of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) DND app for reporting pesky calls and SMS. After years of deliberation, it eventually started supporting the TRAI DND app, though with some restrictions.
Privacy and impact
Addressing privacy concerns, Pemmasani clarified that the Sanchar Saathi app will only access the phone number and SMS reported by the user as fraud or spam.
"When you click on the app to report fraud or spam, it will ask for the number from which you received the call. Then it gets reported. Nothing else will be reported. If there is an SMS message, then it will ask for the number from which the SMS was received. Other than this information, no other information will be recorded or reported," Pemmasani affirmed.
The Minister shared that last year, 50 lakh people were impacted by cyber fraud, resulting in a loss of Rs 23,000 crore. The government has also received numerous complaints regarding lost mobile numbers, lost mobile phones, and instances where multiple phones were registered in a person's name without their knowledge.
Pemmasani concluded by emphasizing the app's reach: "The Sanchar Saathi app is available not only in English and Hindi, but all vernacular languages. Currently, 1.4 crore people have already installed this mobile app, and 21 crore people visit the Sanchar Saathi website. This has been going on for one and a half years." He reiterated that the entire app operates through crowdsourcing.
