The Center Tells Lok Sabha that Aarogya Setu Contact Tracing Data is Now Deleted

The government has disabled the feature of contact tracing on the Aarogya Setu mobile app. Contact-related data collected through this app is deleted.

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth Ghosalkar

Last Updated: February 14, 2023

On Wednesday, the Centre said that they have deleted all the contact-tracing data, which were earlier collected through the Aarogya Setu mobile application. This application software was used to track and locate potential COVID-19 cases during the pandemic time. The application used GPS and Bluetooth for the users who may have come in contact with the people who tested positive for the coronavirus infection. A lot has been said about the security implications over the last three years for the Aarogya Setu App.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MoS for electronics and information technology has told the Lok Sabha that the contact tracing feature in accordance with the respective provisions and protocols, on the Aarogya Setu mobile applications are not discontinued. So, all the contact data collected on the app is not deleted. He also said that secure access to data was given to certain officials only.

Though people still use it as the app is active, the government has said that the feature of contact tracing, for which security concerns were always rife among critics, is no more functioning, and the data has been removed. Chandrasekhar said that approved officials of the State Health Departments, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, District Civil Surgeons, and National and State Disaster Management Authorities were able to access the data securely.

This data is in regards to that collected from the Aarogya Setu. Former intelligence officials and cybersecurity experts have earlier spoken about the data breach possibility, which may affect millions of Indians. However, Indian government officials have said that these concerns can be rested as there is no such threat. Because of lockdowns imposed in 2020, it was mandatory by the Aarogya Setu for the central government employees to register on the app.

The step was taken to ensure that the employees remain safe as they had to commute to work regularly. Then later on registering on the Aarogya Setu app was also mandatory for private and public sector office employees, along with individuals residing in the marked containment zones for the COVID-19-affected places, or those who were traveling through flights.

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