PM Modi wants you to download the Aarogya Setu App: How it works and where to download

New Delhi, Apr 14: Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address to the nation asked all Indians to make seven promises.

Among the seven promises that the PM asked for, one of them was to download the Aarogya Setu application. The PM also asked everyone to even encourage friends and family to download the app.

On April 2, the government launched the app to help persons assess themselves the risk of getting affected with the coronavirus and alert authorities if they have come in close contact with a person affected with the virus.

PM Modi said that the app is a critical link in the fight against the spread of COVID-19. Over the weekend the PM had said that there is a possibility that the app could subsequently be used as an e-pass to facilitate travel from one place to another.

What is the Aarogya Setu app:

The app will detect only fresh cases and will send out alerts to only those who have been nearby the infected person.

"The App, called 'Aarogya Setu', joins Digital India for the health and well-being of every Indian. It will enable people to assess themselves the risk of getting infected with coronavirus. It will calculate this based on their interaction with others, using a cutting edge bluetooth technology, algorithms and artificial intelligence," an official statement from the government said.

If a person is clinically tested positive with coronavirus infection, the mobile number of the infected person is included in the register maintained by the Health Ministry and will be updated on the app as well.

"Once installed in a smartphone through an easy and user-friendly process, the app detects other devices with Aarogya Setu 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 will help the government take necessary- and timely steps for assessing the risk of spread of COVID-19 infection, and ensuring isolation where required," the statement said.

"The government said that privacy is priority for the app users and the personal data collected by the app is encrypted and will stay secure on the phone till it is needed for facilitating medical intervention."

"Available in 11 languages, the App is ready for pan-India use from day-1 and has highly scalable architecture."

The mobile app has been developed in a public-private partnership to bring the people of India together in a resolute fight against COVID-19, the IT Ministry said.

iOS users can download the app here: https://apps.apple.com/in/app/aarogyasetu/id1505825357