Aarogya Setu

Last updated

Aarogya Setu
Developer(s) National Informatics Centre, Government of India
Initial releaseApril 2020;4 years ago (2020-04)
Stable release(s) [±]
Android2.2.4 / July 3, 2023;12 months ago (2023-07-03) [1]
iOS3.1.1 / June 3, 2023;13 months ago (2023-06-03) [2]
Repository github.com/nic-delhi/AarogyaSetu_Android
Written in Kotlin and Java
Operating system
Size
  • 4.05 MB (Android)
  • 29.2 MB (iOS)
Available in12 languages
List of languages
Hindi, English, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Bengali, Odia, Gujarati, Assamese
Type Health care
License Apache License 2.0
Website aarogyasetu.gov.in

Aarogya Setu (translation from Sanskrit: the bridge to health) is an Indian COVID-19 "contact tracing, syndromic mapping and self-assessment" digital service, primarily a mobile app, developed by the National Informatics Centre under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The app reached more than 100 million installs in 40 days. On 26 May, amid growing privacy and security concerns, the source code of the app was made public. [3]

Contents

Full view

The stated purpose of this app is to spread awareness of COVID-19 and to connect essential COVID-19-related health services to the people of India. [4] This app augments the initiatives of the Department of Health to contain COVID-19 and shares best practices and advisories. It is a tracking app which uses the smartphone's GPS and Bluetooth features to track COVID-19 cases. The app is available for Android [5] and iOS mobile operating systems. [6] With Bluetooth, it tries to determine the risk if one has been near (within six feet of) a COVID-19-infected person, by scanning through a database of known cases across India. Using location information, it determines whether the location one is in belongs to one of the infected areas based on the data available. [4]

This app is an updated version of an earlier app called Corona Kavach (now discontinued) which was released earlier by the Government of India. [7]

Features and tools

Aarogya Setu has four sections:

It tells how many COVID-19 positive cases are likely in a radius of 500 m, 1 km, 2 km, 5 km and 10 km from the user. [10]

The app is built on a platform that can provide an application programming interface (API) so that other computer programs, mobile applications, and web services can make use of the features and data available in Aarogya Setu.[ citation needed ]

Response

Aarogya Setu crossed five million downloads within three days of its launch, making it one of the most popular government apps in India. [11] [12] It became the world's fastest-growing mobile app, beating Pokémon Go , with more than 50 million installs 13 days after launching in India on 2 April 2020. [13] It reached 100 million installs by 13 May 2020, that is in 40 days since its launch. [14]

In an order on 29 April 2020 the central government made it mandatory for all employees to download the app and use it – "Before starting for office, they must review their status on Aarogya Setu and commute only when the app shows safe or low risk". [15] [16] The Union Home Ministry also said that the application is mandatory for all living in the COVID-19 containment zone. The government gave the announcement along with the nationwide lockdown extension by two weeks from the 4 May with certain relaxations.[ citation needed ]

On 21 May 2020, the Airport Authority of India issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) stating that all departing passengers must compulsorily be registered with the Aarogya Setu app. [17] It added that the app would not be mandatory for children below 14 years. [18] However, the next day, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri clarified that the app would not be mandatory for any passengers. [19]

On 26 May 2020, the Aarogya Setu app code was made open to developers across the globe to help other countries manage contact tracing in their fight against COVID-19 pandemic. [20]

In March 2021, Co-WIN portal was integrated with the app. [21] This allowed users to schedule an appointment through the app for COVID-19 vaccine by registering their phone number and providing relevant documents. [22]

Effectiveness

NITI Aayog CEO revealed that "the app has been able to identify more than 3,000 hotspots in 3–17 days ahead of time." [23]

However, users and experts in India and around the world say the app raises huge data security concerns. [24] The app collects name, number, gender, travel history, and uses a phone's Bluetooth and location data to let users know if they have been near a person with COVID-19 by scanning a database of known cases of infection, and also share it with the government simultaneously.[ citation needed ]

This is the major area of concern as the app's constant access to a phone's Bluetooth imposes a form of security threat. But it stood to clarify itself that the informations received are not going to be made public. Amidst all these, the app hits a record of about one-hundred million downloads.[ citation needed ]

Reception

Rahul Gandhi, leader of the Congress party, termed the Aarogya Setu application a "sophisticated surveillance system" after the government announced that downloading the app would be mandatory for both government and private employees. [25] Following this, others raised the same concerns about the Aarogya Setu app. [26] [27] [28] The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) responded to these concerns by asserting that Gandhi's claims were false, and that the app was being appreciated internationally.[ citation needed ]

On 5 May, French ethical hacker Robert Baptiste, who goes by the name Elliot Alderson on Twitter, claimed that there were security issues with the app. [29] The Indian government, as well as the app developers, responded to this claim by thanking the hacker for his attention, but dismissed his concerns. [30] The developers of the app stated that the fetching of location data is a documented feature of the app, rather than a flaw, since the app is designed to track the distribution of the virus-infected population. They also asserted that no personal information of any user has been proven to be at risk. [31]

On 6 May, Robert Baptiste tweeted that security vulnerabilities in Aarogya Setu allowed hackers to "know who is infected, unwell, [or] made a self assessment in the area of his choice". He also gave details of how many people were unwell and infected at the Prime Minister's Office, the Indian Parliament and the Home Office. [32] The Economic Times pointed out that a clause in the app's Terms and Conditions stated that the user "agrees and acknowledges that the Government of India will not be liable for … any unauthorised access to your information or modification thereof". [33] In response, several software developers called for the source code to be made public. [34]

On 12 May, former Supreme Court Judge Justice B.N. Srikrishna termed the government's push mandating the use of Aarogya Setu app "utterly illegal". He said so far it is not backed by any law and questioned "under what law, government is mandating it on anyone". [35]

MIT Technology Review gave 2 out of 5 stars to Aarogya Setu app after analyzing the COVID contact tracing apps launched in 25 countries. The app got stars only for the policy which suggests that data collected is deleted after a period of time and that the data collection, as far as user inputs go, is minimal. It also highlighted that India is the only democracy making its app mandatory for millions of people. [36] The rating was further downgraded from 2 to 1 for collecting more information than the app needs to function. [37]

Following this, the MeitY made the source code of the Android app public on GitHub on 26 May, which will be followed by iOS and API documentation. Further, the Government has also launched a "bug bounty program". [38] This was done to "promote transparency and ensure security and integrity of the app". However, experts stated that the server-side code had not yet been publicly released, which meant that public opinion on security and privacy was yet to be completely assuaged. [39] Following this, ZDNet noted that the source code seemed to confirm the government's claim that user location data, if collected, would be anonymised and would be deleted after 45 days, or 60 days for high-risk individuals. [40]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation</span> Indian online ticketing, catering and tourism company

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is an Indian public sector undertaking that provides ticketing, catering, and tourism services for the state-owned Indian Railways. It was established in 1999 by the Government of India and operated under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways. In 2019, it was listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange with the Government holding a 67% ownership. As of December 2023, there are 66 million registered users with IRCTC with a daily average of 7.31 lakh tickets booked.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 surveillance</span> Measures to monitor the spread of the respiratory disease

COVID-19 surveillance involves monitoring the spread of the coronavirus disease in order to establish the patterns of disease progression. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends active surveillance, with focus of case finding, testing and contact tracing in all transmission scenarios. COVID-19 surveillance is expected to monitor epidemiological trends, rapidly detect new cases, and based on this information, provide epidemiological information to conduct risk assessment and guide disease preparedness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID-19 apps</span> Mobile apps designed to aid contact tracing

COVID-19 apps include mobile-software applications for digital contact-tracing—i.e. the process of identifying persons ("contacts") who may have been in contact with an infected individual—deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BlueTrace</span> COVID-19 contact tracing software

BlueTrace is an open-source application protocol that facilitates digital contact tracing of users to stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially developed by the Singaporean Government, BlueTrace powers the contact tracing for the TraceTogether app. Australia and the United Arab Emirates have already adopted the protocol in their gov apps, and other countries were considering BlueTrace for adoption. A principle of the protocol is the preservation of privacy and health authority co-operation.

TraceTogether was a digital system implemented by the Government of Singapore to facilitate contact tracing efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore. The main goal was a quick identification of persons who may have come into close contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19. The system helps in identifying contacts such as strangers encountered in public one would not otherwise be able to identify or remember. Together with SafeEntry, it allows the identification of specific locations where a spread between close contacts may occur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exposure Notification</span> Initiative for mobile device-based privacy-preserving contact tracing

The (Google/Apple) Exposure Notification System (GAEN) is a framework and protocol specification developed by Apple Inc. and Google to facilitate digital contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic. When used by health authorities, it augments more traditional contact tracing techniques by automatically logging close approaches among notification system users using Android or iOS smartphones. Exposure Notification is a decentralized reporting protocol built on a combination of Bluetooth Low Energy technology and privacy-preserving cryptography. It is an opt-in feature within COVID-19 apps developed and published by authorized health authorities. Unveiled on April 10, 2020, it was made available on iOS on May 20, 2020 as part of the iOS 13.5 update and on December 14, 2020 as part of the iOS 12.5 update for older iPhones. On Android, it was added to devices via a Google Play Services update, supporting all versions since Android Marshmallow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVIDSafe</span> Contact tracing app by the Australian Department of Health

COVIDSafe was a digital contact tracing app released by the Australian Government on 26 April 2020 to help combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The app was intended to augment traditional contact tracing by automatically tracking encounters between users and later allowing a state or territory health authority to warn a user they have come within 1.5 metres with an infected person for 15 minutes or more. To achieve this, it used the BlueTrace and Herald protocol, originally developed by the Singaporean Government and VMWare respectively, to passively collect an anonymised registry of near contacts. The efficacy of the app was questioned over its lifetime, ultimately identifying just 2 confirmed cases by the time it was decommissioned on 16 August 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TCN Protocol</span> Proximity contact tracing protocol

The Temporary Contact Numbers Protocol, or TCN Protocol, is an open source, decentralized, anonymous exposure alert protocol developed by Covid Watch in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Covid Watch team, started as an independent research collaboration between Stanford University and the University of Waterloo was the first in the world to publish a white paper, develop, and open source fully anonymous Bluetooth exposure alert technology in collaboration with CoEpi after writing a blog post on the topic in early March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital contact tracing</span> Method of contact tracing using mobile devices

Digital contact tracing is a method of contact tracing relying on tracking systems, most often based on mobile devices, to determine contact between an infected patient and a user. It came to public prominence in the form of COVID-19 apps during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the initial outbreak, many groups have developed nonstandard protocols designed to allow for wide-scale digital contact tracing, most notably BlueTrace and Exposure Notification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing</span> Proximity contact tracing protocol

Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing is an open protocol developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to facilitate digital contact tracing of infected participants. The protocol, like competing protocol Pan-European Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing (PEPP-PT), uses Bluetooth Low Energy to track and log encounters with other users. The protocols differ in their reporting mechanism, with PEPP-PT requiring clients to upload contact logs to a central reporting server, whereas with DP-3T, the central reporting server never has access to contact logs nor is it responsible for processing and informing clients of contact. Because contact logs are never transmitted to third parties, it has major privacy benefits over the PEPP-PT approach; however, this comes at the cost of requiring more computing power on the client side to process infection reports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NHS COVID-19</span> UK contact tracing app for COVID-19

NHS COVID-19 was a voluntary contact tracing app for monitoring the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in England and Wales, in use from 24 September 2020 until 27 April 2023. It was available for Android and iOS smartphones, and could be used by anyone aged 16 or over.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NZ COVID Tracer</span> Mobile software application

NZ COVID Tracer is a mobile software application that enables a person to record places they have visited, in order to facilitate tracing who may have been in contact with a person infected with the COVID-19 virus. The app allows users to scan official QR codes at the premises of businesses and other organisations they visit, to create a digital diary. It was launched by New Zealand's Ministry of Health on 20 May 2020, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corona-Warn-App</span> German COVID-19 contact tracing app

Corona-Warn-App was the official and open-source COVID-19 contact tracing app used for digital contact tracing in Germany made by SAP and Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian government response to the COVID-19 pandemic</span> Actions by the Indian government on COVID-19 pandemic

The first responses of the government of India to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country involved thermal screenings of passengers arriving from China, the country from which the coronavirus disease 2019 originated, as well as of passengers arriving from other countries. As the pandemic spread worldwide, the Indian government recommended social distancing measures and also initiated travel and entry restrictions. Throughout March 2020, several shutdowns and business closures were initiated, and by the end of the month, the Indian government ordered a widespread lockdown. An economic package was announced in May 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID Alert</span> Canadian contact-tracing app for COVID-19

COVID Alert was the Exposure Notification service app for the country of Canada. It launched in the province of Ontario on July 31, 2020, and became available in nearly all Canadian provinces by October of that year, excluding Alberta, and British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">COVID Tracker Ireland</span> Contact tracing application released by the Government of Ireland on 7 July 2020

COVID Tracker Ireland is a digital contact tracing app released by the Irish Government and the Health Service Executive on 7 July 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Ireland. The app uses ENS and Bluetooth technology to determine whether a user have been a close contact of someone for more than 15 minutes who tested positive for COVID-19. On 8 July, the app reached one million registered users within 36 hours after its launch, representing more than 30% of the population of Ireland and over a quarter of all smartphone users in the country. As of August 2021, over 3,030,000 people have downloaded the app.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers</span> Trade union federation of app-based transport workers in India

The Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) is a trade union federation of ride-sharing transport workers. In India, this includes the workers on platforms such as Ola, Uber. The federation is affiliated with the International Transport Workers Federation.

Software for COVID-19 pandemic mitigation takes many forms. It includes mobile apps for contact tracing and notifications about infection risks, vaccine passports, software for enabling – or improving the effectiveness of – lockdowns and social distancing, Web software for the creation of related information services, and research and development software. A common issue is that few apps interoperate, reducing their effectiveness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MySejahtera</span> Malaysia national contact tracing platform for COVID-19 pandemic

MySejahtera is a mobile application developed by Entomo Malaysia and the Government of Malaysia to manage the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia. It can be used to conduct contact tracing, self-quarantine, and also book COVID-19 vaccination appointments.

StaySafe.ph or Stay Safe is a digital contact tracing app launched by the Philippine government as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. The mobile app was developed and published by MultiSys Technologies Corporation.

References

  1. ↑ "Aarogya Setu APKs". APKMirror. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  2. ↑ "AarogyaSetu". App Store. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  3. ↑ nic-delhi/AarogyaSetu_Android, nic-delhi, 27 May 2020, retrieved 27 May 2020
  4. 1 2 "Govt launches 'Aarogya Setu', a coronavirus tracker app: All you need to know". Livemint. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "Aarogya Setu – Apps on Google Play" . Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "Aarogya Setu Mobile App". MyGov.in. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  7. ↑ "Govt discontinues Corona Kavach, Aarogya Setu is now India's go-to COVID-19 tracking app". The Financial Express. 5 April 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  8. ↑ "Aarogya Setu New UI and Features". SA News Channel. 15 April 2020. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020.
  9. ↑ "Aarogya Setu update: New features added to India's contact tracing app". Indian Express. 21 August 2020. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020.
  10. ↑ "Aarogya Setu announces Bluetooth proximity feature for contact tracing! Here's how to check". The Financial Express. 6 July 2020.
  11. ↑ "Aarogya Setu App Crosses 5 Million Installs in 3 Days". NDTV Gadgets 360. 4 April 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  12. ↑ Bureau, ABP News (4 April 2020). "Coronavirus India: Govt's 'Aarogya Setu' App Crosses 5 Million Downloads in 3 Days". news.abplive.com. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "Go Aarogya Setu Go: Modi govt's app pushes aside Pokémon GO to become fastest growing mobile app with 50 million users". Free Press Journal. 15 April 2020. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020.
  14. ↑ "Aarogya Setu app enters 100 million users club". The Times of India. 13 May 2020. Archived from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  15. ↑ "Centre makes Arogya Setu app must for all central govt employees". India Today. 29 April 2020. Archived from the original on 1 May 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  16. ↑ Cruze, Danny Cyril D. (2 May 2020). "Aarogya Setu now mandatory for employees in India. Here's how to register". Livemint.
  17. ↑ Phadnis, Ashwini (21 May 2020). "Passengers with 'red' status on Aarogya Setu App will not be permitted to fly, says Civil Aviation ministry". Business Line .
  18. ↑ Thakur, Prabhakar (21 May 2020). "Aarogya Setu App Mandatory for Airline Passengers, No Entry Without 'Green' Status". NDTV.
  19. ↑ "വിമാന സര്‍വീസ് നിര്‍ത്തലാക്കില്ല; ആരോഗ്യസേതു നിര്‍ബന്ധമല്ല- വ്യോമയാന മന്ത്രി". Mathrubhoomi. 23 May 2020. Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  20. ↑ "Aarogya Setu is now open source". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  21. ↑ "CoWIN". www.cowin.gov.in. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  22. ↑ Staff Writer (3 March 2021). "How to register for Covid vaccination on Aarogya Setu App: A detailed guide". mint. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  23. ↑ "Aarogya Setu identified over 3k virus hotspots in 3-17 days ahead of time: Kant". Livemint. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  24. ↑ "Why is India's contact tracing app controversial?". 14 May 2020.
  25. ↑ "Rahul Gandhi terms Aarogya Setu a 'sophisticated surveillance system', RS Prasad hits back". Moneycontrol. 2 May 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  26. ↑ Ananth, Venkat (15 April 2020). "'Aarogya Setu's not all that healthy for a person's privacy'". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  27. ↑ Clarance, Andrew (15 May 2020). "Why is India's contact tracing app controversial?". BBC News. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  28. ↑ George, P. j (26 April 2020). "Coronavirus | What are the concerns around the AarogyaSetu app?". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  29. ↑ Banerjee, Prasid (5 May 2020). "French hacker finds security issue in Aarogya Setu". LiveMint. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  30. ↑ "Govt 'thanks' French ethical hacker who flagged Aarogya Setu, but dismisses security concern". ThePrint. 6 May 2020.
  31. ↑ "Arogya Setu app on privacy issue: Read full statement here". Hindustan Times. 6 May 2020.
  32. ↑ "Aarogya Setu Security Issue Exposed PMO, MHA Employee Data: Hacker". The Quint. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  33. ↑ Anandi Chandrashekhar & Surabhi Agarwal (6 May 2020). "Govt has no liability if Aarogya Setu data leaks". The Economic Times. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  34. ↑ Sharma, Jeevan Prakash (7 May 2020). "Make Aarogya Setu Source Data Public For Greater Transparency, Scrutiny: Experts". Outlook.
  35. ↑ "Mandating use of Aarogya Setu app illegal, says Justice B N Srikrishna". The Indian Express. 12 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  36. ↑ "Aarogya Setu App Gets Just 2 Out of 5 stars in MIT Technology Review for COVID Contact Tracing Apps". Network 18 Media. 12 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  37. ↑ Ajmal, Anam (22 May 2020). "MIT downgrades Aarogya app". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  38. ↑ Singh, Jagmeet (27 May 2020). "Government Open Sources Aarogya Setu App Code After Facing Criticisms". NDTV Gadgets 360. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  39. ↑ Aryan, Aashish (28 May 2020). "Explained: What making Aarogya Setu open-source means". The Indian Express. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  40. ↑ Rao, Rajiv (29 May 2020). "India's contact tracing app made open source, but will this thwart a surveillance state?". ZDNet. Archived from the original on 29 May 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.