Sanchar Saathi App: Phones have captured our lives in the digital world. We no longer use our mobile phones as a communication device; it has become a part of our personal lives. Phones hold valuable information, banking details, and all our personal information to all our identity documents. So what will happen in case we lose the mobile phone?
The mobile phone may be misused in case it is lost or stolen. There is no amount of locking your phone, or locking up your apps, that will ensure this is stopped completely. It is capable of going into your software without your consent and stealing all your information. In order to curb this vice, the government has opted to make a significant move. The Indian government has resolved to create a government cybersecurity application, the Sanchar Saathi application, as a requirement in involving phone security and data protection.
It has been indicated that this government cybersecurity application will be pre-installed in all new smartphones sold either Android or iOS in the future. This application is irredeletable and irrendisable. This application will operate to avoid phone fraud, theft, cloning and other cyber attacks. But this is a reassuring as worrying news. What would happen when this application begins to encroach on our privacy? Since this app will be monitoring what you are doing, people you are chating with and capturing their pictures.
Your cell phone will now be in the control of the government and you will no longer be able to do away with this application should you wish so. People have been surprised by this new decision.
The government reverses the Sanchar Saathi app, and states that the app can be pulled.
Latest news is that, the Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has claimed that the Sanchar Saathi application is optional application. He explained that the user is able to erase it in their phones whenever they desire. Pre-installation does not imply that it cannot be removed; this is because he claimed that it is being given to protect the user in terms of safety and security. But then again it can be disabled or deleted at the convenience of the users. This new statement came out of protesting by companies and users, however.
In the beginning, this app was supposed to be a non-removable pre-installed app. However, nowadays, the government perhaps takes into account altering this policy due to all these complaints. This is why the Government of India and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) have claimed that this app can be removed and disabled together.
Sanchar Saathi App Overview
The Sanchar Saathi application is created by the Department of telecommunications in the Government of India. This application has been developed as a mobile security and cyber safety application. This is an app that is related to the Central Equipment Identity Register system. This system captures the IMEI of all the phones in India. IMEI is an intelligent system that informs the position of the phone be it active or not, the owner, etc. And this app will be made obligatory by the government in each phone in the future.
This implies that the Sanchar Saathi app will be an obligatory pre-programmed application in all phones, and this cannot be uninstalled. The government has, however, in a recent statement, termed it as optional app.
Why does the government want to make Sanchar Saathi App mandatory?
With the development of technologies, there is an increase in digital crimes as well. Yes, not to mention the digital crime, but there is a growing number of cases of phone theft, loss of confidential information, and fraud carried out by cybercrime. In order to avoid all these, the government has taken the strategic move of ensuring that all smartphones have a cybersecurity application called Sanchar Saathi installed. At this point, it is no matter what company or brand the phone belongs to, installing this app has become a requirement.
The government has gone to an extent of instructing companies to make the app visible to the customer as soon as they set up their devices. This application will not be able to be deleted or turned off. It will be permanently stored in your phone and those who already have a phone, which lack this application, will get an update in the form of a software upgrade. It implies that communication partner application will cease to exist, and will be compulsory to all mobile phones.
Benefits of Sanchar Saathi App
The greatest benefit of this app is that it will continuously connect the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) to its information that will indicate the whereabouts of the phone, its owner, whether it is an authentic or a counterfeit phone or whether it has been cloned, etc.
The app will simplify phone tracking of stolen phones. Moreover, the victim whose phone has been stolen may also make a request to block the IMEI via Sanchar Saathi and this will ensure the network of the phone never functions again.
The use of this app will also eliminate fraudulent messages and calls hence diminishing cybercrimes. Moreover, this application will not allow duplication of any phone hence it will not be abused by the phone network. Its greatest merit is that it assists in the location of missed phones.
One piece of data has it that the Sanchar Saathi facility has aided in the recovery of more than 700,000 stolen phones and preclusion of more than 3 million frauds in a year.
Which phones will Sanchar Saathi App be installed on?
This application is not a choice but a must-have. This order has to be followed by all the smartphone manufacturers. Every business that sells smartphones in India, be it Apple, Samsung, Vivo, Oppo, Xiaomi, OnePlus, etc., will be forced to install this app as a pre-installed mobile phone application. All of them will be forced to put this order to the test in the next 120 days and provide a report.
Any of the already available phones in the market that have no such app installed or in stores and have not been updated with a newer software update will get this app installed with a software update. The pre-installed or installed by using a software update, it will not be possible to disable or delete this app.
How will this Sanchar Saathi App affect the users?
This is a government app and after installing the app in your mobile, it cannot be removed. This will imply that you no longer will have 100 percent control over your phone. Rather, the government will gain access to your information. This will constitute a breach of digital freedom. Moreover, your mobile phone harbors much of your confidential data, and with this application on your mobile phone, your data will be available to the government databases. This is to say that, there will always be a person spying on your phone and your actions.
This app will also have to be encountered by the luxury phone users and their experience will not be the same. There is a word that once this app is installed, the applications of such luxury brands as iPhones can have slightly various responses in their mobile arrangement. Experts argue that this application will be constantly on the background, which will strain the checking network, which would slow down the performance of the phone. Nevertheless, it will be advantageous in regard to security.
Following the introduction of this application, the complaints on WhatsApp hacks, spam calls, bank fraud, cloned phones, and stolen phones will be less in the future. However, this will mean a limitation of your freedom of expression; all of the information of what you tell and what you do on your phone will be securely stored with the government. The application will also aid in the reduction of terrorist activities and anti-social factors in the future since the government will be in a position to know all the activities that have been conducted using the phone. This will eventually minimize the abuse of phones, yet people will always be at the receiving end of government intrusion in their phones.
As a recent declaration by the Minister of Communications explains, this app can be removed and shut down. This app will be removable with such brands as Apple and Samsung.
Although the initial instrument was installed, you, the user can install and uninstall it at your convenience.
Sanchar Saathi App
Generally, in present-day age, when the amount of scams, thefts, cloned phones, fake conversations, and online scams is rising, such a decision will be highly helpful in the security perspective. Nonetheless, this will be an app that cannot be deactivated or deleted, which casts doubt on the privacy, freedom, and confidentiality of users. The government currently is altering its policies though it is calling it optional, but the reality will be realized in the future.
But, in the case of national security, this policy can be very advantageous. However, someone will always be staring at you and what you do 24/7. That being the case, your phone, though in your possession, may actually be in the possession of another person.