Amid privacy uproar, Jyotiraditya Scindia tells Parliament: ‘Snooping not possible via Sanchar Saathi app’ | WATCH

Amid the Opposition's outcry over the Sanchar Saathi app order, Telecommunications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told the Lok Sabha that "snooping is not possible via the app." Addressing lawmakers during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, Scindia reiterated that the app's usage is entirely "voluntary."

His response came after Deepender Singh Hooda, senior Congress leader from Rohtak, raised concerns and said there were doubts in people's minds that the app could infringe on an individual's privacy. Hooda added that, as someone with a computer science background, he understood that when an app is preloaded, even if a user force-stops it, there may be grey areas around its functionality.

To this, the minister responded that the November 28 order was to make the app “accessible” to general public. He also added that the app was an initiative by the Centre to save the people of the country from the ill-effects of the internet such as cybercrimes.

Meanwhile, government sources said the Sanchar Saathi app witnessed a tenfold jump in downloads on Tuesday, rising from a daily average of around 60,000 to nearly 6 lakh.