What The FAQ: Is the Sandes app an apt replacement for WhatsApp?

What do we know about the Government of India's latest Sandes app? What are its features and who can use it? Will it replace WhatsApp anytime soon?
Picture: Edexlive
Picture: Edexlive
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As a part of the Make in India Initiative, the Government of India started a project called Government Instant Messaging System in 2019. The motto behind this GIMS project was to provide an instant messaging platform for the government employees so that the question of security doesn't arise. Initially, the software was tested in September 2019 and a pilot project was launched. Around 6000 government employees were part of this pilot project. Later, the software was renamed Sandes and it was launched on Friday by the Government of India

So today, try to dig in more information about Sandes and who knows if we have to switch to using Sandes instead of Whatsapp on our phones.

What is the Sandes app?
Sandes is a Hindi word that means message. It is an instant messaging platform developed and launched by the Government of India. It can be installed on Android, iOS and web browsers.

How is it different from WhatsApp?
One of the important differences in Sandes is that it offers to sign up using an Email ID and not just a mobile number. But right now, this option is restricted only to government officials. However, Whatsapp allows you to create an account using your phone number only.

What are some of the features of Sandes app?

An official group on this app can have up to 200 members and a casual group of friends can have up to 50 members only. The broadcast list is only limited to 10 contacts at a time. The messaging feature also includes forward to mail, broadcast, backup, text customisation and tag. There is an auto-delete option and once the recipient reads a message, then it gets deleted automatically.

Are there any dangers of leak of text messages or voice chats from Sandes app?

Sandes app allows the users to make end-to-end encrypted one to one or group messages. It also allows users to make end-to-end encrypted one-to-one voice and video calls.

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