In short
The DBT Rapid Damage Assessment app is a work tool for authorised ASDMA field staff. It is not a consumer app and members of the public cannot sign in to it.
Staff use it to record flood damage at affected households, so most of the information in the app is about other people — the households being assessed — rather than about the person holding the phone.
Who this policy is for
Two groups of people are described here, and the app treats them differently:
- App users — surveyors, verifiers and senior officers authorised by ASDMA, who sign in with a mobile number.
- Assessed households — the flood-affected families whose damage is recorded. They do not use the app. Their information is entered by a field officer during a visit.
Information the app collects
1. About the person signing in
| Data | Why it is needed |
|---|---|
| Mobile number | It is the login identity. A one-time password is sent to it. |
| Name, role and posting (circle or district) | Decides which batches of work the user can open, and records who recorded what. |
| Device identifier generated by the app | Recognises the handset so a session can be kept, and so work can be traced to the device that submitted it. |
This app does not read the handset's IMEI, advertising ID, contacts, call log or installed-app list.
2. About an assessed household
Recorded by the officer during the visit, with the household present:
- Name, father's or husband's name, gender and date of birth
- Mobile number and postal address, locality and PIN code
- Aadhaar number and ration card number
- Bank account number, IFSC and branch
- Details of the damage claimed — category, type, quantity and amount
- Photographs of the damage
3. Photographs and location
A damage photograph is taken with the device camera. At the moment the shutter is pressed, the app reads the device's location and records the latitude, longitude and accuracy alongside the photograph, and stamps them onto the image itself. This is what allows a claim to be tied to a real place and re-checked later.
Location is read only at that moment. The app does not track a user's movements, does not run location in the background, and does not collect location when it is closed.
An officer may also attach an existing photograph. This uses the Android system photo picker, which hands the app only the single image chosen — the app cannot see, browse or read anything else in the gallery, and holds no permission to do so.
4. One-time password messages
To save typing the OTP, the app can read a single incoming message containing that code, using Android's SMS User Consent service. Android shows a prompt first and the user may decline; the code can always be typed by hand instead. The app does not hold permission to read the SMS inbox, and no other message is ever read.
Device permissions, and what each is for
| Permission | Used for |
|---|---|
| Camera | Photographing the damage at the household. |
| Location (precise and approximate) | Recording where a damage photograph was taken, and where a spot-check visit took place. Read at that moment only. |
| Internet / network state | Sending completed work to the ASDMA server and checking whether the device is online. |
| Vibration | Touch feedback in the app. |
| Storage (older Android versions only) | Holding photographs and survey data on the handset until they can be sent. |
The app does not request permission to read your photo library, your contacts, your SMS inbox, your microphone or your call history.
Where the information is kept
On the handset
The app is built to work with no signal. A survey, its photographs and the sign-in session are stored on the device until a connection is available, then sent to the ASDMA server. Data held on the device is reachable only by this app.
On the ASDMA server
Submitted work is stored on ASDMA's server and is accessible only to authorised ASDMA users and officers. Information travels over an encrypted HTTPS connection.
Who the information is shared with
Information recorded in this app is shared only with:
- ASDMA, and the district and circle offices responsible for the assessment, for verification, approval and payment of assistance.
- The bank or payment channel handling the disbursement, and only the details needed to make that payment.
- A body legally entitled to require it, where ASDMA is obliged to provide it.
Information is never sold, rented, exchanged or given to advertisers, analytics providers or data brokers. There are no such services in the app.
How long it is kept
Assessment records are retained by ASDMA for as long as the relief programme and the audit of that programme require, and are then disposed of under ASDMA's record-keeping rules. Work held on a handset is cleared when it has been submitted, or when the user signs out.
Security
- Sign-in is by one-time password to a registered mobile number. There is no password to be guessed or reused.
- Every request to the server carries a session token tied to the device.
- All traffic uses HTTPS.
- A user sees only the work assigned to their circle or district.
- Entries record who made them and when, so every change is attributable.
No system is perfectly secure, but access to this app is restricted to authorised staff and is monitored.
Children
The app is not directed at children and children cannot sign in to it. Where a household's members include children, no information about them is collected beyond what the assessment of the household requires.
Your rights
A household whose details were recorded during an assessment may ask ASDMA to confirm what is held about them, correct anything inaccurate, or explain how it is being used. Requests may be made through the circle or district office that carried out the assessment, or through the contact below.
Because these records support the payment of relief and are subject to audit, a request to delete them may not always be possible while the programme and its audit are running.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the revised version will be published at this address with a new effective date. Material changes affecting how information about assessed households is used will also be communicated to field offices.