COVID-19 tracker app Aarogya Setu has been surrounded by controversy. When the Central Information Commission (CIC) asked The National Informatics Centre (NIC) for some specific details on the Aarogya Setu app, it said that it had no information about who created the Aarogya Setu app. The response raised several concerns on social media, soon after which, the government released a clarification statement.

The NIC failed to provide information about the process of creation of the Aarogya Setu app and other information relating to its creation. The complainant specifically stated that they had filed an RTI application with Aarogya Setu’s developer. NIC replied saying that it ‘does not hold the information’ relating to the app’s creation.

The Centre clarified on October 28 that the Aarogya Setu app was developed by the Government of India in collaboration with private enterprises. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued the clarification after the Chief Information Commission sought an explanation from the National Informatics Centre for saying it had no information about who created the contact tracing app.

Aarogya Setu app has been developed in the most transparent manner and all details and documents including privacy policy and Aarogya Setu data access & Knowledge Sharing Protocols issued on 11th May 2020 have been uploaded on the Aarogya Setu Portal – aarogyasetu.gov.in, the Centre further stated. The two-page clarification tweeted by the official handle of the Aarogya Setu application mentioned that the COVID-19 tracker has been downloaded by over 16.23 crore users and that it has helped strengthen the country’s fight against the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The clarification statement also includes a GitHub link to the contributor page of the Aarogya Setu app code. The source code was made public in May to address several privacy concerns that were raised initially. Despite the government announcing that the source code is public. After its launch, several privacy experts raised several privacy concerns associated with the usage of this app. Attempting to allay such fears, the Centre created the Aarogya Setu Protocol and notified it on 11 May 2020.

The Protocol governs the collection of data by the app and data sharing of personal/non-personal data collected through it. It lays down penalties and obligations for sharing data with government agencies, third parties, and research institutions.