Aarogya Setu App Used for Surveillance by Government of India? PIB Fact Check Debunks Fake News
To help people self-evaluate the risk of catching COVID-19, the government has launched the Aarogya Setu App. Recently, a prominent newspaper in its Op-Ed article has alleged that the application developed by the National Informatics Centre will be used for surveillance. Here's the truth.
The Coronavirus cases have brought the world, including India, to a standstill. The virus, which spreads through respiratory droplets, has forced the government to impose 21-day lockdown. To help people self-evaluate the risk of catching COVID-19, the government has launched the Aarogya Setu App. People can check the risk of catching the infection. The calculations are based on user's interactions with others, using cutting edge Bluetooth technology, artificial intelligence and algorithms. Aarogya Setu App: Know Features And How to Download The COVID-19 Tracking Application.
Since releasing the Aarogya Setu application, the government has been extensively promoting it. Recently, a prominent newspaper in its Op-Ed article has alleged that the application developed by the National Informatics Centre will be used for surveillance. Viral Message Claiming That Government Can Read WhatsApp Chats is Fake.
Dismissing the claim, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) in its official Twitter handle said that the app does not link the user's location and data with sensitive personal data. PIB also stressed that the app does not make them vulnerable to hacking.
"Claim: a prominent newspaper has alleged in an Op-Ed that Arogya Setu will be used for surveillance. Fact: This is baseless, the App does not link user location & data with any sensitive personal data. Also, it does not make users vulnerable to hacking," PIB Fact Check Tweeted.
PIB Tweet:
So far, the Aaarogya Setu app has been downloaded over 10 millions times on Google Play Store. The application supports 11 languages including Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and English. "Aarogya Setu is a mobile application developed by the Government of India to connect essential health services with the people of India in our combined fight against COVID-19," the description read.
Fact check
Aarogya Setu application developed by the National Informatics Centre will be used for surveillance
PIB said that the claim is baseless, the App does not link user location & data with any sensitive personal data. Also, it does not make users vulnerable to hacking
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 07, 2020 09:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).