Singapore has announced that it has removed all personal data collected by its COVID-19 contact-tracing systems, except for information related to a murder case, which will be retained indefinitely. The TraceTogether and SafeEntry systems, which were used to track and monitor COVID-19 cases, have now been shut down and all related personal data has been deleted.
The decision to remove the data comes as travel restrictions have eased and the global pandemic has stabilized. Efforts were also made to retrieve the Bluetooth-enabled wearables that were distributed nationwide for contact tracing, so they can be refurbished and reused when needed in the future.
The Smart Nation Group, a government agency managed by the Ministry of Communications and Information, has confirmed that all COVID-19 related personal data collected from the TraceTogether and SafeEntry platforms has been deleted. This includes user registration data, which was kept for quick rollout and registration in case a new variant emerged.
However, the data collected via the TraceTogether system related to a murder case in May 2020 will be retained indefinitely by the Singapore Police Force. This information may be used for potential legal applications if the conviction or sentence is challenged in the future.
In February 2021, Singapore passed new legislation regarding local law enforcement’s access to COVID-19 contact-tracing data. This legislation allowed for the deletion of personal data and specified a date for shutting down the digital contact-tracing systems if they were no longer needed.
The backend infrastructures for the TraceTogether and SafeEntry systems have been dismantled, and their frontend websites and mobile apps have been removed. The TraceTogether app used Bluetooth signals to detect other participating mobile devices, while the SafeEntry system was a digital check-in system used at venues for contact tracing purposes.
Overall, Singapore has taken steps to protect the privacy of its citizens by removing personal data collected through its contact-tracing systems. The retention of data related to a murder case is an exception based on the potential legal applications that may arise in the future.
