New Delhi : The app that had to be kept in the crowd of thousands of apps in the phone during the Corona period is called ‘Aarogya Setu App’. This app was essential to travel by train or plane in Corona seoson. Even just by showing this app, one gets a permit to go to the respective destination, be it office or any other institution. But the app itself became ‘DOWN’ after the epidemic calmed down a bit. According to news agencies, the Central Government has stopped the ‘Data Access and Sharing Protocol’ of Aarogya Setu. This means, from now on, no information can be exchanged through this app. Various information related to corona infection was available in this app. Apart from this, the center claimed that it will be known whether there is any corona infected person or not through this app.
Aarogya Setu: The Dead App Now
An app user had to register in this app whether there are symptoms of corona or not, whether you are infected with corona or not. The shutdown of Aarogya Setu’s ‘Data Access and Sharing Protocol’ has raised questions about the future of app users’ personal data. Since April 2020, many have expressed concern about the security of the data collected from the app’s users. Where did this amount of data go? What is protected at all?
The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) sought information from the government through an RTI (Right to Information Act) on the Aarogya Setu app. In that context, the Center has informed that the ‘Data Access and Sharing Protocol’ of Arogya Setu has been stopped from May 10, 2022. A spokesman for the National Informatics Center (NIC), the maker of Aarogya Setu, said the ‘sharing protocol’ has been discontinued as it has lost its relevance.
Aarogya Setu: National Health App
The National Informatics Center spokesperson also said that Arogya Setu was a ‘contact tracing app’. That is, whether there is an infected person near you or not, it would be known through this app. But as it has no more relevance now, it will be made the National Health App in coming days.
In fact, the Modi government made this app mandatory in all cases after the lockdown during the Corona epidemic. Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, alleged that the government was trying to monitor the people. CERT-IN (Computer Emergency Response Team), the Centre’s cyber-attack prevention agency, had also warned about the threat of data theft through the app. After that, the Home Ministry started relaxing the conditions for making the Aarogya Setu app mandatory in all cases.
Even after the epidemic subsided, many people downloaded this app. A total of five lakh people downloaded this app in April and June this year. Last March, 11 lakh people joined the Aarogya Setu app. More than 10 crore people have downloaded this app. Co-win portal was integrated with Aarogya Setu app. So many people used this app to download vaccination certificate. The question is, will the information already provided through this app be protected?
Bureau Report
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