India’s digital landscape is expanding at a rapid pace, making the nation the world’s second-largest telecom ecosystem. In parallel, cyber threats and mobile-related frauds continue to rise, compromising user privacy and digital trust. To address these escalating risks, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) launched the Sanchar Saathi mobile app on 17 January 2025—a dedicated platform designed to safeguard telecom users and enhance mobile security nationwide.
Within just months of its launch, Sanchar Saathi has exceeded 50 lakh downloads as of August 2025, reflecting strong public adoption and awareness. The app’s LIVE dashboard confirms that users have blocked over 37.28 lakh stolen or lost devices and successfully traced more than 22.76 lakh mobile phones. These figures highlight Sanchar Saathi’s growing role as a frontline defence against device theft, cloned phones, and identity misuse.
The need for such an initiative is undeniable. According to CERT-In data, cybercrime incidents surged from 15,92,917 cases in 2023 to 20,41,360 in 2024. Digital Arrest Scams and mobile fraud complaints reported through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal reached 1,23,672 cases in 2024, with thousands more registered by early 2025. As fraudsters increasingly target unsuspecting citizens, the Sanchar Saathi app equips users with essential tools to identify, report, and prevent cyber-enabled crimes.
One of the app’s standout offerings is the ‘Chakshu’ feature, which allows users to report suspicious WhatsApp messages, SMS, or voice calls—especially those related to fake KYC updates, banking fraud, or phishing attempts. The app also enables users to check the number of mobile connections issued in their name, identify unauthorised SIMs, and instantly request their disconnection—an important protection against identity theft.
The app’s IMEI-based device blocking and tracking mechanism further assists citizens and law enforcement agencies in securing lost phones, discouraging black-market resale, and preventing cloning of smartphone identities. Users can also verify the authenticity of mobile handsets before purchase and report international calls that improperly appear as domestic numbers.
Sanchar Saathi’s impact extends far beyond individual device protection. The broader initiative has facilitated the termination of more than 3 crore fraudulent mobile connections, blocked 3.19 lakh devices, disabled 16.97 lakh WhatsApp accounts, and blacklisted over 20,000 bulk SMS senders. These measures collectively reinforce national telecom security and protect millions of digital consumers.
Prioritising user privacy, the app complies with the IT Act 2000 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, ensuring data minimisation, transparency, and restricted sharing only with legal authorities.
With multilingual availability across Android and iOS, Sanchar Saathi is empowering citizens to verify mobile identities, secure stolen phones, and report fraud with unprecedented ease. As India transitions deeper into the digital era, Sanchar Saathi stands as a vital, citizen-centric initiative that strengthens telecom integrity and fosters a safer, more secure digital environment.
