India has backed away from its plan to force smartphone makers to pre-install a government app on all devices, following backlash and mounting concerns that the mandate would expand state access to users’ devices and weaken privacy protections.

On Wednesday, the Indian telecom ministry said Sanchar Saathi, an anti-theft and cybersecurity protection app, would remain voluntary, and that smartphone makers would no longer be required to preload it on devices they sell.

The new notice effectively reverses a directive issued to manufacturers last week (and circulated online on Monday) that had instructed manufacturers to bake the app into all devices and prevent its features from being disabled. News of the mandate soon ignited concerns over privacy and state overreach.

“Given Sanchar Sa

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