Indian Government Launches Mobile App To Prevent Spread of COVID-19

Indian Government Launches Mobile App To Prevent Spread of COVID-19
(L) Amar Ujala ; Inc42 (R)

The Indian Government has launched a coronavirus tracking app called Aarogya Setu, which translates as ‘a bridge of health’. It has been launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in partnership with private sector companies to help people identify the risk of getting infected by Coronavirus. The Artificial Intelligence system behind it uses the users’ mobile phone location and Bluetooth data to assess whether they have been within six feet of a person infected with COVID-19. The anonymised data of people who have downloaded the app is sent to a server and checked against a database of known cases and their movements. If a person with the app tests positive for COVID-19 or has been in close contact with someone who has, the app shares that data with the government, according to Global Government Forum. The app is available in 11 Indian languages. It asks users a list of questions such as their place of residence and whether they are a healthcare worker in order to weigh their chances of having contracted the virus.

It includes live updates from the health ministry and a list of helpline numbers for each state in India. Joint secretary of the health ministry, Lav Aggarwal, told reporters that if someone came in contact with a COVID-19 positive patient, he or she would be notified through this app.

Even though this app can be considered an invaluable preventive measure at this point, it also comes with certain privacy concerns, since there’s a chance that by tracking people’s names, age and other personal information, it can be used for mass surveillance.

This app was developed in the aftermath of the Karnataka Government’s decision to publish the names and addresses of nearly 20,000 international passengers who had flown back to India shortly before commercial flights were banned, according to Global Government Forum. It also asked citizens to report whether any of those on the list had broken self-quarantine rules. However, this was met with widespread criticism as the personal data of roughly 20 people under isolation in the southern city of Hyderabad, Telangana, was leaked from a government agency’s database.

Privacy groups are concerned that a breach of the Aarogya Setu app’s firewall protections could lead to a similar leak of personal data. Aarogya Setu also has some features such as a chatbot to help you determine if you may have coronavirus symptoms, rolling updates from the health ministry, and a list of helpline numbers for each state in India.

Serving as a preventive tool at the intersection of technology and public healthcare, this app is presumed to help create self awareness among the citizens with relevant information on the infection.

It is currently available on iOS and Android.

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