Sandes Messaging App is a Made-in-India Alternative to WhatsApp
Jul. 31, 2021The Indian government launched a new messaging app called “Sandes” as aWhatsApp alternativefor government employees this February. AsCNBC-TV18reports, this Made-in-India messaging app is now available to the general masses.
Creating a new account onSandes requires a phone number. Once you verify the number with OTP, you can set your name, gender, and profile picture. While name is a required field, filling in gender and profile picture is optional.
There are four tabs at the bottom for Chats, Contacts, Groups, and Account settings. You also have an option to offer feedback within the app, as you can see in the image below.
From the account settings page, you can access app settings, turn off read receipts, log out, or even delete your account. Sandes also lets youlink your Aadhaar accountif that’s something you are interested in.
The app also collects device-specific information like hardware model, operating system, app version, language preference, time zone, and device identifiers. Information about your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is included as well. You can check out Sandes app’s privacy policy righthere.
While I won’t personally recommend using a government-made app for your personal messages, you can check out the app using the links below if you are interested. Also, for those looking for othersecure messaging apps, you will find one in our linked article.
Download Sandes app (Play Store|App Store)
Subin writes about consumer tech, software, and security. He secretly misses the headphone jack while pretending he’s better off with the wireless freedom.
