Sabeer Bhatia in his latest instagram reel, has criticized the Indian government for bringing out Sanchar Saathi app which is rumored to be mandatory pre-installed and non-removable in the new smart phones very soon.
Bhatia opined that through this app, the government would be able to see private data of the consumer like photographs, communications and files.
Dumb Idea : Sabeer Bhatia on the objective of Sanchar Saathi App
As per the hotmal co-founder, the objective of Sanchar Sathi app is a very “dumb idea” as a person with malicious intent would simply use an older smartphone to do cyber frauds making the entire mandate ineffective.
But that’s not all. Sabeer Bhatia believes that through such initiatives, the government is trying to catch the mere 0.1% of society who have malicious intentions. And for that, restrictions will be put on 99% percent of society by forcing them to install the Sanchar Saathi app.
It should be noted that a few days ago, Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is serving as Minister of Communications and the Minister of Development of North Eastern Region clarified that Sanchar Saathi app will only be optional and that the app could be removed by the user if they want to.
For the record, the government on 3rd Dec 2025, announced that it has scrapped the mandatory pre-installation of the app.
The government opined that this reversal decision came as more and more people are voluntarily downloading the app of their free will, it makes compulsion unnecessary, however, the main reasons appears to be the massive backlash which the public has presented ever since the government announced the mandatory pre-installation in upcoming smartphones.
The Government want to snoop on our Data : Sabeer Bhatia
As per Sabeer, the sole reason for this pre-installed and non-removable app appears to be for snooping on the citizen’s private data and if that is the objective, then the people are not living in a free society. Sabeer hopes that the Indian people will fight against the motive.
A day ago, Dhruv Rathee, a prominent Youtuber and a vocal critic of the BJP government praised Apple company for allegedly refusing to install the Sanchar Saathi App in their new smartphones citing privacy risks.
Netizens React
While the majority of netiznes supported Sabeer’s argument, a few of them criticised him. Bhatia often gets noticeable negative comments whenever he makes criticism video about India and about the BJP government.
