When India’s government launched its Covid-19 app in April, the stated aim was  to inform people about the virus, help them to report symptoms and issue alerts about possible contact with infected individuals. 

Downloading the Aarogya Setu app was not a legal requirement, but without the latest version, people found themselves prevented from accessing a number of public services, traveling, visiting public hospitals and entering some commercial buildings. This has raised serious privacy concerns. 

The latest: This week, following a petition by digital rights activist Anivar Arvind, the high court in the southern state of Karnataka ruled that government agencies cannot refuse benefits to people without the app.

Why this matters: Across India — a nation of 1.3 billion — people need Aarogya Setu to travel from airports, on some trains and to access health facilities. More than 150 million downloaded it. But after the app came under heavy criticism over a lack of transparency regarding the collection and management of data, many people figured out a workaround.