HYDERABAD: Apart from the fact that European users of Telangana’s official app ‘T Covid-19’ have more control over their data, concerns are being raised over private collaborators handling the health data. Many fear the data may be shared with third-party companies. Also, 22 permissions that the app requires to function fully, including background location and audio recording, has made the users wary.
These issues were raised by Pat Walshe, UK-based senior data protection and privacy consultant. In an email conversation with the Express, he said, “The app developer is listed as Quantela, which is a company based in the USA. This raises a number of questions about who is responsible for the app and the data collected by it? Walshe, who is also the owner of Privacy Matters, an NGO, pointed out that the end-user licence agreement (EULA) and the privacy policy were for Quantela and claimed that “none of which relate to the Government of Telangana”. He further asked why private health data was being shared with the third-party developers of Quantela.
Walsh asked, “Why are individuals being required to agree to various policies and terms and conditions for third-party developers and entities that — according to those documents — give them the right to use the data for their own commercial purposes?” Telangana’s IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan told Express that the owner of the health data remains the State government and not any private entity. While responding to the queries regarding the data collected, Ranjan said, “The app’s maintenance and technology is the responsibility of the third party purely from the technological perspective.
The owner of any data remains to be the Government of Telangana and the same shall be maintained as per the prevailing laws of the nation. This is a voluntary app and not compulsory for availing any assistance or facilities.” Regarding the sharing of data with the third parties, Ranjan clarified, “The app links to the third-party services and the same are disclosed upfront. The users are given an option to exit and not agree for the same. The terms do not allow them to access data that is not required for availing their services. The government has also entered an agreement with these entities for data privacy and protection as per the applicable laws of India and the same is being followed.”