Google, Apple launch Covid-19 exposure tracking tech in India – What happens to Aarogya Setu?

Over the last few days, both Google and Apple have made available their Covid-19 exposure tracking technology in India. Most of us would not have realized it, but the app has made its way to our devices. A quick peek into the settings menu shows that the feature is present and if not active, it may soon see a green light.

To recall, this is the same solution that saw a rare collaboration between both the arch-rivals – Apple and Google and was announced in April. The idea behind this app was to create a self-sufficient alarm system with the help of smartphones to alert users in case a person, they’ve come in touch with in the recent past, tests positive.

The API based solution is supposed to exchange “anonymous identifying” keys with other smartphone users and work in tandem with the coronavirus-tracking applications created by the local government and public health agencies to notify the user for a possible infection. The system though is designed to keep the users’ identity anonymous and verify their status from the official database.

Keeping privacy at its core, the Exposure Notification solution developed by Google and Apple requires developers of contract tracing apps to agree to the terms and conditions set by the tech giants. One such condition is that the users will have the liberty to opt-in or out of the solution and can explicitly prevent the application from collecting personal data like device location etc.