Published 14:03 IST, March 28th 2020
What is the Karnataka COVID-19 Quarantine tracker? Find out if you are safe
What is the Karnataka COVID-19 Quarantine tracker? How does it work? How is the app responsible for revealing personal data of positive patients? Find out here.
The Karnataka COVID-19 Quarantine tracker app has published the details of people under home quarantine in the state. But the matter raised privacy concerns when the Karnataka government started publishing home addresses, office addresses and more in the application of those who have tested positive for Coronavirus in the state. The software is available for public download on Play store.
What is the Karnataka Covid 19 Quarantine tracker?
The Karnataka COVID-19 Quarantine tracker app helps the users to understand if they came in contact with any Coronavirus positive patient during the day. The tracker app monitors the location of the people and provides extensive data of the travel history of the patients and the user. The application shows two dots, ed dots signify the travel history of the positive Coronavirus patients and the blue dots signify the travel history of the mobile user. On zooming in and clicking on one of the markers, a small pop up shows the date, the time and the details of the particular location that the patient has visited.
How can someone test themselves in the Karnataka Covid 19 Quarantine tracker?
If the travel history of the user matches with the positive patients, the user can check for the symptoms in the app. If the person's symptoms match with those of the virus, the Karnataka COVID-19 Quarantine tracker app will notify the user about the nearest test centres and medical facilities where one can choose to get themselves checked.
How is the Karnataka Covid 19 Quarantine tracker invading the privacy of the home quarantined people?
The Karnataka COVID-19 Quarantine tracker app shows the patients’ travel history, the spots they visited, and the exact time that they were at the spot. This information can be useful for the users to if they visited the same public place as a positive person. However, the Karnataka government has allegedly also revealed people’s home addresses in the app.
However, the government denies giving out personal information and defends itself by saying that it does not reveal the name of the person. But, during the lockdown period, the police has been taking strict action and is treating people stepping out of their houses with a stern behaviour and revealing such details from COVID-19 tracker apps creates panic in the society which may cause problems for the home quarantined people.
Updated 14:03 IST, March 28th 2020