Singapore admits police can access contact-tracing data

A mobile phone user displaying the TraceTogether application in Singapore. The government’s admission that police could ‘obtain any data’ – including info gathered through the contact-tracing programme – in the course of a criminal investigation has led to much anger online. — AFP

SINGAPORE: Singapore has admitted data collected for contact-tracing can be accessed by police despite earlier assurances it would only be used to fight the coronavirus, sparking privacy concerns on Jan 5 about the scheme.

The city-state has a programme called “TraceTogether” for tracking close contacts of Covid-19 patients, that works via both a phone app and a dongle.