India plans to verify and record every smartphone in circulation

India is expanding its Sanchar Saathi anti-theft initiative to both new and used smartphones by mandating preinstalled apps and requiring IMEI checks through a central database, while piloting an API for recommerce platforms to submit customer and device data. The government cites combating cybercrime and fraud as justification, noting millions of devices blocked or traced, but the plan has drawn strong privacy concerns over data collection, transparency, optionality of the app, and potential misuse, particularly given the scale of India’s smartphone market and the lack of clear safeguards.