Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Privacy debate heats up over India contact tracing app

Indian authorities plan to make a contact-tracing mobile app mandatory for everything from taking public transit to going to work, raising concerns among digital rights experts about privacy and increased surveillance.

Aarogya Setu, the app launched by the Indian government earlier this month to stem the novel coronavirus outbreak, evaluates users' risk of infection based on location, and their medical and travel history. It uses Bluetooth and location services to trace a user's contacts.


While authorities have said use of the app is voluntary, it has been made mandatory for food-delivery workers and some other service providers, and all federal government employees.

It may also be needed to access public transit and airports when a nationwide lockdown lifts, according to local media reports.

But digital rights organisation Internet Freedom Foundation called the app a "privacy minefield", adding "it does not adhere to principles of minimisation, strict purpose limitation, transparency and accountability".

"The app runs very palpable risks of either expanding in scope or becoming a permanent surveillance architecture," said executive director Apar Gupta.

Founder of food-delivery firm Zomato Deepinder Goyal said that "being on the frontline exposes our delivery partners to catching the infection, and therefore, any customers that they get in touch with for those few handover seconds."

By mandating all its delivery staff to use Aarogya Setu, "the idea is to keep individuals as well as authorities informed in case they have crossed paths with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus – to prevent further spread," he said in a statement.

India has recorded more than 31,000 cases of the coronavirus, including more than 1,000 deaths, according to a Reuters tally.

About 80 million downloads of Aarogya Setu - meaning 'health bridge' in the Sanskrit language - have been reported, a small fraction of the 500-million smartphone user base in a population of over 1.3 billion.

India is among a growing list of nations using mobile apps, facial recognition cameras, drones and other technologies to track the virus, monitor people under quarantine, and determine who can work and take public transit as lockdowns are eased.

A spokesman for the information technology ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

'MISSION CREEP'

Digital rights experts have warned that use of such technologies increases the risk of surveillance, and that some of these measures will persist even after the situation eases.

At the time of the launch of Aarogya Setu, officials had said: "The personal data collected by the app is encrypted using state-of-the-art technology and stays secure on the phone till it is needed for facilitating medical intervention."

Like China's Health Code app that shows a user is symptom-free to board the subway or check into a hotel, federal government employees in India must have a "safe" or "low risk" status on their Aarogya Setu app to go to work, according to a notification dated April 29.

The app may soon be installed on all smartphones by default, according to local media reports.

Bluetooth phone apps for tracking the coronavirus have seen modest early results, although more countries are rolling them out. Luxury carmaker Ferrari has a voluntary contact-tracing app as part of its plan for re-opening its factories.

About 600 scientists and researchers from around the world, in a joint statement earlier this month, said GPS-based contact tracing apps lacked "sufficient accuracy" and carried privacy risks.

Some of these apps enabled government or private surveillance through "mission creep", they said, a shift from the stated objectives.

Countries are addressing privacy concerns differently, said Anirudh Burman, an associate fellow at Carnegie India.

"What we are seeing so far is that most of these applications are designed for pandemic prevention," he said.

"We are not yet seeing any significant evidence of the scope of these applications increasing. It is not clear yet that there is a significant function creep," he said.

But the risk that this may happen is high in India, which has neither a data protection law nor a data protection authority, said Suhrith Parthasarathy, a lawyer.

"Aarogya Setu is framed as a necessary technological invasion into personal privacy to achieve a larger social purpose," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"But without a statutory framework, and in the absence of a data protection law, the application's reach is boundless."

More For You

Ping Pong restaurant chain shuts all UK branches

The chain had also gained a following for its themed brunches

iStock

Ping Pong restaurant chain shuts all UK branches after 20 years

Key points

  • Chinese dim sum restaurant Ping Pong has closed all its UK locations
  • The chain made the announcement via social media
  • Founded in 2005, the brand thanked customers and staff for their support
  • Loyal diners shared memories and disappointment in the comments

All branches are permanently closed

Chinese restaurant chain Ping Pong has permanently closed all its branches in the UK, the company confirmed in a social media announcement.

Founded in 2005 by restaurateur Kurt Zdesar, the dim sum chain had become popular for its stylish interiors, creative menus, and Asian-inspired cocktails. The company did not provide prior notice of the closure but said the decision marked the end of an “unforgettable” 20-year journey.

Keep ReadingShow less
New Covid strain

Experts have raised concerns about the immune-evasive nature of the Stratus strain

iStock

New Covid strain Stratus spreads in UK with unusual hoarse voice symptom

Key points

  • A new Covid strain known as Stratus is spreading across the UK
  • The variant is marked by a distinctive symptom: a hoarse or raspy voice
  • Sub-variants XFG and XFG.3 now account for 30% of cases in England
  • Experts say there is no evidence of more severe disease
  • Lower immunity levels may make more people vulnerable to infection

Covid variant Stratus on the rise in the UK

A new strain of Covid-19, known as Stratus, is spreading across the UK and drawing attention for its unusual symptom — a hoarse or raspy voice. According to data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Stratus and its two sub-variants, XFG and XFG.3, are responsible for around 30 per cent of Covid cases in England.

Of the two, XFG.3 is currently the more dominant. The UKHSA confirmed that monitoring of all circulating Covid-19 variants is ongoing as part of regular surveillance.

Keep ReadingShow less
Human brain continues forming neurons

Neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons form in the brain

iStock

Human brain continues forming neurons well into old age, study finds

Key points

  • New neurons continue forming in the brain’s hippocampus into old age
  • Study confirms presence of neural progenitor cells in adults
  • DNA carbon dating and single-nucleus RNA sequencing were used
  • Research shows variation in neuron production between individuals
  • Findings could aid treatments for neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders

Human brain shows ongoing neuron formation into older age

A new study has confirmed that the human brain continues to produce new nerve cells well into late adulthood, challenging previous assumptions about age-related decline in neurogenesis. The findings, published in the journal Science, provide fresh insight into how adaptable the brain remains over a lifetime.

Neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons form in the brain, is known to occur in the hippocampus — a region involved in memory. While previous research has suggested that this process continues throughout life, there has been limited concrete evidence of the presence of neural progenitor cells in the adult brain.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kent County Show 2025

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, who grew up in Brenchley

Getty Images

Kent County Show opens with royal visit from Duchess of Edinburgh

Key points:

  • Day one of the Kent County Show begins at Detling Showground near Maidstone
  • The Duchess of Edinburgh visits the event for the first time in 16 years
  • Organisers expect up to 70,000 visitors over the weekend
  • Farming and rural life are at the centre of the three-day programme
  • Highlights include live camel racing, equine sports, livestock displays and more

Kent County Show opens with royal visit

The Kent County Show returned to Detling near Maidstone on Friday, marking the start of a major three-day celebration of farming, food, and rural living. The event opened with a special visit from the Duchess of Edinburgh, who is attending for the first time in 16 years.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, who grew up in Brenchley near Tunbridge Wells and serves as patron of the Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations (ASAO), met with farmers, equine exhibitors, and local businesses on her tour of the showground.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sri Aurobindo

Heehs’s biography is grounded in extensive archival research across France, England, India and Israel

AMG

Sri Aurobindo and the rise of the Asian century

Dinesh Sharma

My friend and colleague, the American historian Peter Heehs, who has lived in Pondicherry, India, for decades, recently published a compelling new biography, The Mother: A Life of Sri Aurobindo’s Collaborator (2025). Heehs previously authored The Lives of Sri Aurobindo (2008), which remains one of the most balanced and scholarly accounts of Aurobindo’s life.

According to Heehs, most previous biographies of the Mother were written for devotees and relied on secondary sources, often presenting her as a divine incarnation without critical engagement. “Such biographies are fine for those who see the Mother as a divine being,” Heehs said, “but they can be off-putting for readers who simply want to understand her life – as an artist, writer, spiritual teacher, and founder of the Ashram and Auroville.”

Keep ReadingShow less