The Singapore government announced on Monday that it had been removed. largely All personal data collected from the company’s coronavirus tracking systems (TraceTogether (TT) and SafeEntry (SE)) as of February 1st.
“Both the TT and SE (Business) apps have been removed from official mobile app stores and the back-end digital infrastructure supporting the TT and SE systems has been dismantled. The TT and SE websites have also been shut down,” state relations said. clarified. Smart Nation Group.
The organization added that users’ registration details (previously stored for quick setup and registration in case of new variants or outbreaks) have also been removed.
In Singapore, the TraceTogether mobile app and SafeEntry venue login service were made mandatory from May 2020 until late April 2022. The app worked by exchanging her Bluetooth signals between smartphones, identifying other app users nearby and indicating that they were at a distance where the virus could more easily spread. It spreads easily.
Authorities can then identify individuals who have had close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and may issue isolation orders if necessary.
SafeEntry served as a check-in system that recorded details of people visiting public places such as malls and offices, recording their movements to help authorities monitor outbreaks. The app and check-in system are integrated, and users register their presence by touching their smartphones on a terminal installed at the venue entrance.
The duo ceased operations in February 2023 and closed on January 10, 2024.
Singapore’s sluggish coronavirus tracking program has left it behind other countries including Australia, Japan and even China, leaving many wondering if and when the program will end. There is.
However, Smart Nation said plans to leave the tracing program in place were always on the table, as required by the country’s COVID-19 Temporary Measures Act. That date he set for January 5, 2024.
The law also required contact tracing data on individuals used for contact tracing purposes to be removed from the system.
Smart Nation has clarified that the small amount of data collected by the app and SafeEntry will not be deleted as it relates to the May 2020 murder case. That data will be retained indefinitely. The organization reasoned that it was necessary to preserve the documents in case the conviction or sentence was challenged after the case was concluded.
The murder became a hot topic because residents were initially promised that the data would “only be used for contact tracing of people who may have been infected with the coronavirus.” Concerns have been raised that the use of off-label data for criminal investigations could erode public trust and reduce the uptake and therefore effectiveness of COVID-19 prevention programs.
Singapore’s coronavirus tracking app has managed to track more coronavirus cases than apps in other countries, thanks to the government’s strict mandate for citizens to use the app. Other restrictions on activity during the pandemic have not provoked widespread public criticism, but most of the island nation’s population has been compliant and largely indifferent to surveillance.
Still, the technology performed better than many other apps, so much so that Singapore open-sourced TraceTogether and an advisor to the World Health Organization recommended the idea be widely adopted.
But I hope those days are gone and never return. At least that’s what the Singapore government hopes.
“As Singapore moves towards managing COVID-19 like any other endemic disease, the digital contact tracing systems TraceTogether (TT) and SafeEntry (SE) will no longer be needed,” Smart Nation Group explained. did.
The Leg asked the Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech), an organization closely associated with Smart Nation Group, for details on the data destruction techniques being used on pandemic data. We’ve seen consulting firms literally shatter hard drives to demonstrate that their data deletion efforts are thorough and give data recovery experts confidence that the information is no longer available. I’ve seen it.
We will update this article if we receive a substantive response. ®