To bring all Indians together in a resolute fight against COVID-19, the Ministry of Electronics & IT has recently launched a mobile app called, ‘AarogyaSetu’, that will enable people to identify and assess their risk of contracting coronavirus infection.

The app will calculate this based on their interaction with others, using cutting edge Bluetooth technology, algorithms and artificial intelligence.

AarogyaSetu is available in 11 languages on both popular operating systems, Android and iOS. Reports suggest that the app has already been downloaded for more than 10 million times since its launch on April 2.

The app is designed to keep you informed in case he/she has crossed paths with someone who is covid+.

The app works on Bluetooth and location generated social graph. Once installed in a smartphone, the app detects other devices with AarogyaSetu installed that come in the proximity of that phone. The app can then calculate the risk of infection based on sophisticated parameters if any of these contacts are tested positive.

The app requests you to keep Bluetooth and location sharing on all the time. It asks several questions, and if the answers point towards COVID-19 symptoms, the information is sent to the government-operated servers. The data will then help the government to take timely steps and initiate the process of isolation, if required.

Following are the steps to use AarogyaSetu app:

• Download the app, and allow it to access your location.
• You will receive an OTP, enter it and you are logged into the data.
• Choose your gender.
• Provide your full name, age, and profession.
• Answer if you have travelled abroad in the last 30 days. Give a rough answer about your travel history (if there is any).

After all the above, the app then asks if you are ready to volunteer in the times of need. If you agree, a 20-second assessment test will begin.

The App’s design ensures privacy-first. The personal data collected by the App is encrypted using state-of-the-art technology and stays secure on the phone until it is needed for facilitating medical intervention.