The government of India has ordered that all new smartphones sold in the country must come pre-installed with Sanchar Saathi, a state-run “cyber safety” app that lets users track or block lost or stolen phones (via IMEI number) and check how many mobile connections are registered under their name.  While officials present it as a tool against fraud and theft, the mandate — including pushing the app to older phones via software updates — has sparked sharp criticism from privacy advocates, civil-society groups and major device makers like Apple, who warn it could enable mass surveillance and erode user consent.