With over 50 million downloads in less than two weeks, the Narendra Modi government’s recently launched Aarogya Setu contact tracing app for Covid-19 has jumped to the top of Google Playstore. That’s the fastest download rate for any app in the world—even faster than Facebook, said NITI Aayog chief executive Amitabh Kant Wednesday.
Praised by the World Bank as an important voluntary initiative to combat the pandemic, the app uses GPS and Bluetooth technology to alert a user if they have come in contact with a Covid-19 positive patient.
PM Modi also made a strong pitch for citizens to download the government app during his national address Tuesday, even as he spoke about the migrant worker crisis and testing.
This is why Aarogya Setu is ThePrint’s Newsmaker of The Week.
Despite its strong push from the government, the app has also been making headlines for some wrong reasons. Data privacy concerns, fears that the government will use it as a surveillance tool and the fact that there is no prevailing legal framework for the app being just a few. Even the Indian Army appears a bit jittery, having cautioned its personnel to follow cyber security protocols after downloading the app to ensure no breach in security.
The Modi government has since updated the privacy policy for the app, answering some crucial security concerns.
Also read: Aarogya Setu is fastest app in the world to reach 50 million users despite privacy concerns
Modi govt and its love for apps
Aarogya Setu, Hindi for ‘bridge of healthcare’, was launched on 2 April to enable contact tracing through smartphones. In just three days, it crossed five million downloads.
The app’s popularity this week was no doubt propelled by PM Modi’s advocacy for it in his national address Tuesday. After announcing an extended 19-day lockdown, the PM urged Indians to download the app and “inspire others” to download it too. Earlier on 10 April he told Indians, “You must be able to persuade at least 40 people to install this Aarogya Setu app and tell them about this”.
This app-download race joins Modi government’s other campaigns around – UMANG, myGov, mPassport Seva, Grameen Vidyutikaran, Khoya Paya, M-Kavach, Postinfo, Kisan Suvidha to name a few.
Registering on Aarogya Setu only requires a mobile number and if a user wishes to opt for “self-assessment” of their health condition they will have to disclose some personal information like gender, age, medical history, travel history and whether or not they are a health worker.
Based on these answers, the app suggests what steps a user should take next, be it self-quarantine or alerting the relevant authorities etc. For the app to run properly, it requires the user to keep GPS and Bluetooth switched on permanently. Otherwise it could lead to a misidentification of Covid-19 positive patients.
Also read: India is using at least 19 apps to track and trace Covid-19, including Aarogya Setu
Privacy concerns
Despite its growing popularity, Aarogya Setu has been slammed by cybersecurity experts with fears that it could be used to expand the government’s power of surveillance, and that the app’s encryption is “vulnerable to sniffing attacks”.
The Internet Freedom Foundation points out that the app lacks a purpose limitation principle, which means there is no clarity on whether it can be used in the future for purposes other than healthcare. Also, its privacy policy “does not specify which departments or ministry or officials will be the ones accessing that data”. Software Freedom Law Centre too raised alarm over the fact that the app can also additionally collect geodata of a user’s contacts and acquaintances. The concerns come amid a stalled Personal Data Protection Bill coupled with the department of telecommunication’s (DoT) aggressive pursuit of 5G networks. There are also calls for data collected by the app to be deleted immediately after the pandemic.
Several reports have compared Aarogya Setu to Singapore’s TraceTogether app that collects far less information using only Bluetooth proximity data, suggesting something India could have emulated.
With the vaccine for Covid-19 still at least a year away, digital contact tracing has emerged as an alternative and governments across the world are working to make it a success. But the launch of such apps has yet again ignited the debate around personal privacy protection, especially at a time when the stakes — loss of lives — are high.
Views are personal.
What use the Government will have for obscure information regarding common citizens.The only possible malignant use of this personal information could be for Electoral campaigns and advertisement but then again BJP has a huge Data Collection and analysis team for that purpose. Also, Data collection and organisation helps in the implementation of Welfare Schemes and reduce confusion and chaos in the Bureaucracy. The positives far outweigh the negatives. For some individualist ideologues, it may seem like a Faustian Bargain but there concerns seem trivial at best and hysterical at worst.
So far data is supporting Modi government’s effort to control covid-19.
We have full faith in present government to come up victor in this battle.
No matter which side of politics one sits, this is a commendable initiative. What surprises (and annoys) me most is, no foreign TV or newspaper has mentioned this!!? You hear of the south korean and Singapore apps but never this??