Army cautions personnel on use of Aarogya Sethu app

New Delhi, April 15 (IANS) The army has directed its personnel not to use Aarogya Sethu mobile app, designed to help control spread of coronavirus, in office premises, operation areas and sensitive locations.

Also, the personnel using this app should not to disclose service identity, including rank and appointment. The force has been issued directions to adhere to the cyber security policies on the usage of mobile phones.

However, it has allowed all defence force personnel, veterans and their families and dependents to install Aarogya Sethu app.

The army has stressed all the services people using this app will have to switch off location services and bluetooth while visiting public places and engaged in managing ‘isolation centres’.

The force has also asked the personnel, called for Covid-19 related assistance to civil authorities, to switch off location services and bluetooth if they use the app.

“Contact list of user should not contain any reference to rank appointment or service,” it said. The personnel using this app must install antivirus and update their mobile operating system, it added.

“Serving personnel, veterans & families of IndianArmy advised to use “Aarogya Setu” App for duration of #COVID19 with due precautions,” the army tweeted.

Aarogya Setu app, launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development is association with Digital India, is for contact tracing and dissemination of advisories to contain Covid-19

It also helps find coronavirus infected people present nearby. After downloading, the app asks if you have cough, fever or trouble breathing. If you don’t have any such problem, you will be in the ‘green zone’.

It asks users to keep the phone’s Bluetooth and location devices on. Whenever the user visits a crowded place, this app keeps sending messages from nearby mobile phones through the Bluetooth.

When the user stands near a Covi-19 free person it shows green zone. If that person becomes coronavirus positive after 10 days, the app will alert you immediately. In such a situation, the user can get himself or herself checked too. This app also tells about hotspots, so that the user can change the route.

Since the launch, the app has been downloaded by over 1,00,00,000 people on both Android and iPhone smartphones. Available in 11 languages, the app is designed for use on an all-India basis and can also take a huge workload.

–IANS

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