Kominfo Denies The PeduliL Protect Application Spying On Community Activities

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) denied reports that the PeduliLindung application would spy on the activities of its users. Beyond its function which is intended as supervision of the COVID-19 health protocol.

Kominfo spokesman, Dedy Permadi said, his party has rolled out a feature update in the PeduliL Protect application on the Android OS version. Where the user is possible to deny redundant access permission requests from the application.

"Currently the version of PeduliL Protect Android is 3.1.1, where there are many different application features and access permissions that are not used in the latest version. In version 3.1.1 there is no longer the use of Bluetooth, WiFi, camera and file access features for storage," said Dedy in his press release, Tuesday, January 5.

This statement came out after many doubts emerged about the safety of this application that tracks the spread of the corona virus in Indonesia. Including regarding redundant access requests from the CareProtect application against the device.

"The version of Caring for Android that was discussed and made an issue was version 2.2.2 which was released on June 25, 2020," he added.

Kominfo stated that the access permission granted to the PeduliLindung application had been stipulated in the Decree of the Minister of Communication and Information No. 171 of 2020 as the basis for implementing tracing, tracking and fencing through telecommunications infrastructure, systems and applications to support health surveillance,

"The access permission used in the application is solely to improve the user experience and benefits for the user when using the PeduliLindung application," said Dedy.

PeduliLindung uses a crowd-sourced system to track the spread of the corona virus. For this reason, users are asked to turn on the location, which also serves to provide information on the spread of the corona virus where the user is.

Dedy ensured that the privacy policy on the PeduliLindung application had received approval from digital store providers such as the Google Play Store and the App Store. "Including will not use data and information for commercial purposes and application treatment of sensitive data."

The Cares Protect app does not retrieve the contact list stored on the user's phone. The data collected by this application is temporarily stored in the local storage of the device, then it is sent to the server periodically and is protected by encryption.

Kominfo stated that the data is protected by encryption stored on the PeduliLindung server, not shared with the public. This data is only accessed when the user is at risk of contracting COVID-19 and needs to be contacted immediately by a health worker.

"User data will not be submitted or disseminated to other parties except to government agencies currently appointed to handle the COVID-19 pandemic, or due to legal provisions," said Kominfo in the press release.

PeduliLindung downloaded by more than 26 million users, this application will also be used to support the COVID-19 vaccination program, which is targeted to reach around 180 million people.