Various concerns were raised against pandemic contact tracing app Aarogya Setu. Responding to several concerns, Communications and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the app is completely safe. The minister stated that all the data stored in the servers is secure and will be deleted once the COVID-19 crisis is over.

“This app is completely safe and secure; data is secured for a very limited purpose and for a very limited period of time,” said Prasad. He further added that the data is encrypted and there was no need for panic over its safety. Prasad insisted that the app’s only purpose is to track the coronavirus outbreak and protect the people. “This helps avoid your contact with a person who is inflicted and the whole purpose of this app is to protect you,” Prasad said.

A government official quoted in the report said that most of the data would be deleted in 30 days and information pertaining to COVID-positive people would be deleted in 60 days. The official reiterated Prasad’s statement of deleting all data once the coronavirus crisis was over. 

 “Let us make this absolutely clear that the data is not shared with anyone. All data is anonymised, your personal information is encrypted. It creates an anonymous device ID. All future interactions happen with the anonymised device id, and then for most people data remains on the phone only,” the official said.

Security researcher and ethical hacker Elliot Alderson raised concerns over the app after Rahul Gandhi called Aarogya Setu "a sophisticated surveillance tool".

Aarogya Setu’s team denied any such concerns which put the privacy of 90 million Indians at risk. The government recently made it mandatory for all employees (including the private sector) to download the COVID-19 contact tracing app while holding heads of respective organisations liable for any negligence.