What happened to your data on Aarogya Setu?

The app collected personal details like a person’s name, phone number and gender, along with access to their live location and Bluetooth.

Aarogya Setu’s ‘Data Access and Sharing Protocol’ had raised privacy concerns since its launch during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The app kept track of all the contacts a COVID positive person would have made during the raging pandemic.

While the government claimed the data was encrypted and anonymised, it was unclear what anonymization protocols were being used. According to the privacy experts, the static anonymization ID offered by the app was a weaker model in comparison to the one offered on contact tracing tools launched by Apple and Google.   

However, in early February this year, Congress Member Parliament Amar Singh sought details of the protocol governing the data collected by Aarogya Setu, and a list of the government or private agencies, organisations, institutes and individuals with access to that data. 

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the minister of state for electronics and information technology, responded by stating that the app’s contact tracing feature had been deactivated and all data it had amassed had been erased.

The app collected personal details like a person’s name, phone number and gender, along with access to their live location and Bluetooth. This prompted app users to express their concern about the safety of the collected data. Their main concern was where will this data go?

Last year, the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) also sought information from the government through the Right to Information Act on the Aarogya Setu app. The government responded saying that the ‘Data Access and Sharing Protocol’ of Arogya Setu was discontinued in May 2022. 

Around five lakh people downloaded the app in April and June last year, whereas a total of over 10 crore people have downloaded the app, reveals the data. Being integrated with Co-win portal, the app was used by  people to download vaccination certificate. 

Giving details on the app data, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that only the approved officials of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, State Health Departments, the National and State Disaster Management Authorities and District Civil Surgeons were given access to it.  

He said that an empowered group selected by the National Executive Committee, constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, was in charge of the efficient use of app data.

“As per a decision of the empowered group, its chairperson issued an order to ensure secure collection of data by the Aarogya Setu mobile application, protection of personal data of individuals and the efficient use and sharing of personal or non-personal data for mitigation and redressal of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the minister said.

So, what’s next for Aarogya Setu?

Arogya Setu was a ‘contact tracing app’ but as it has no more relevance now, it has transitioned into the health app for the nation through its integration with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.

In February, the National Health Authority (NHA) announced the integration of its Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission with the Aarogya Setu, allowing users to create 14-digit unique Ayushman Bharat Health Account numbers from the app. 

The app will now have additional functionalities such as sharing health status through a QR code, Open API, health advisories, and testing lab details, etc.

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