Proposed health code app sparks anger in China

BEIJING: A Chinese local government's proposal for a post-coronavirus health app that ranks citizens based on their smoking, drinking, exercise and sleep habits has sparked fury online over privacy concerns

China has already developed apps that indicate an individual´s likelihood of contracting coronavirus based on their travel history and whether they had come into contact with an infected case.

Hangzhou, a high-tech hub and home to e-commerce giant Alibaba, was among the first Chinese cities to adopt such an app, which gives people a green, yellow or red code that determines if they can buy travel tickets or enter public places.

But the health commission in the eastern city of 10 million people is now considering rolling out an app that looks much deeper into the health of citizens. The software monitors users in real-time and ranks them on a 100-point "health gradient" scale, according to a post on the commission´s website.

According to shots of the app shared in the post, it ranks citizens out of the entire population of Hangzhou based on their health score, which changes according to the user´s daily actions.

For example, drinking a glass of white wine could set your score back by 1.5 points, while sleeping for seven hours could improve it by one point. The app can also give companies and residential communities an overall health score based on the scores of individuals, such as employees´ average sleep rate, steps taken and how many of them suffer from chronic disease, according to a screenshot.

Currently in development, the app could be completed as early as June, but further details -- such as how data is collected -- remain unclear.

"The municipal health commission should grasp the opportunity to deepen the use of health codes... to ensure the full completion of various municipal health systems," health commission member Sun Yongrong was quoted as saying.