New Delhi — India's government revoked an order on Wednesday that had directed smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung to install a state-developed and owned security app on all new devices. The move came after two days of criticism from opposition politicians and privacy organizations that the "Sanchar Saathi" app was an effort to snoop on citizens through their phones.

"Government has decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers," India's Ministry of Communications said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

The initial order, issued privately to phone makers by the ministry late last month, was leaked to Indian media outlets on Monday. It directed all phone makers to preinstall the Sanchar Saathi (which means Communication Partner in Hindi) app on n

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