Aarogya Setu app downloaded more than 7.5 crore times, questions raised regarding privacy

Arogya Setu app is being downloaded and installed rapidly in India. The app had achieved millions of downloads within a few days of its launch and now according to the latest information, the Arogya Setu app has been downloaded 7.5 crore (75 million) times. The Aarogya Setu app was launched on April 2 and has been growing rapidly since then. The new information was shared by officials of the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) during a review meeting. According to a statement from MeitY, Sanjay Dhotre, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, feels that the app is “one of the most important tools in fighting COVID-19.” The free app is available on both Android and iOS platforms. Although privacy concerns are now being raised over the Aarogya Setu app, but with PM Modi and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) encouraging its download, it seems unlikely that the development of this app will be stopped. .

Dhotre asked officials to promote the app as much as possible. He also appreciated the various efforts being made by various departments in the fight against coronavirus.

The statement quoted Dhotre as saying the government has a “historic opportunity” to serve humanity and it “should be fully utilized and every possible effort should be made to provide relief to the common people.”

The Aarogya Setu app uses a user’s location and Bluetooth data to tell them whether they are in a safe location or not. It also tells users if they have come in contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus.

However, due to some reasons, concerns are increasing regarding the privacy of users on the fast growing Arogya Setu app. A member of the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC.in) Post According to , the app collects sensitive personal data such as the user’s gender and travel information which is then stored in the cloud. The SFLC.in team shared, (translated) “The app continuously captures the registered user’s location data and stores a record of the locations where the user came in contact with other registered users.” The main point of concern here is that the Aarogya Setu application also restricts reverse engineering i.e. preventing security researchers from finding out what kind of privacy related issues it actually involves. Also regarding the use of GPS data concerns Are.