New Delhi: The Union government on Wednesday withdrew its earlier order that made pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app mandatory for mobile manufacturers after backlash over privacy concerns. "Given Sanchar Saathi’s increasing acceptance, the government has decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers," read an official statement from the Ministry of Communications.

An earlier directive had triggered concerns among users and smartphone makers, with Apple resisting the mandatory installation. Officials said the decision was taken in view of the app's "rapidly growing voluntary adoption" and to ensure that installation remains a matter of user choice. The Department of Telecom said that it is removing the order mandating installation of the Sanchar Saathi app, following a 10-fold jump in voluntary app downloads in just one day.

“The number of users has been increasing rapidly, and the mandate to install the app was meant to accelerate this process and make the app available to less aware citizens easily. “Just in last one day, 6 lakh citizens have registered for downloading the app, which is a 10x increase in its uptake. Given Sanchar Saathi’s increasing acceptance, Government has decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers,” the DoT said in a statement.

In the November 28 order, the DoT directed smartphone makers to pre-install the app on all new devices and push it through updates on older ones.