confidential Indian government directive requiring smartphone makers to preload a state-owned cyber safety application, and will formally raise its concerns with New Delhi, three sources told Reuters.

The order, issued to Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi and others, mandates that within 90 days all new smartphones sold in India must come pre-installed with Sanchar Saathi — a government-developed app designed to track stolen phones, block lost devices, and prevent misuse.

Manufacturers have also been asked to push the app via software updates to devices already in the supply chain and ensure it cannot be removed or disabled.

India’s telecom ministry later confirmed the directive, calling it a necessary security measure to counter “serious endangerment” to cyber safety.

But the move has triggered intense criticism from opposition parties and privacy advocates, who argue it could pave the way for increased government access to the country’s 730 million smartphones.

Amid the backlash, Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia on Tuesday described Sanchar Saathi as “a voluntary and democratic system,” saying users can choose whether to activate it and can “easily delete it from their phone at any time.”

The app can currently be deleted by the user, though Scindia did not clarify how this squares with the November 28 confidential order instructing manufacturers to ensure its core functions cannot be disabled.

Apple and the telecom ministry have not yet commented on the company’s potential resistance to the directive.