CoWin API Doesn't Show Vaccine Slots In Real-Time: Will This Shutdown Bots?
Some tech-savvy 18-44-year-olds however, decided to act rather smartly and tried to somewhat cheat the system. But it looks like CoWin has made some moves to quietly shut them down.
The CoWin API page on API Setu yesterday displayed that it would no longer display slot availability in real-time and instead have cached data that can be 30 minutes old, indirectly shutting down bots that were abusing the online slot booking through CoWin¡¯s API.
CoWin
Also Read: CoWin App Crashes: Above 18 Users Report Server Error In Covid Vaccine Signup
The COVID-19 vaccination drive didn¡¯t really start on a good note, when on the day of registration the site just crashed for several users and soon after, several states of around the nation announced that due to the unavailability of doses they¡¯re not going to commence the vaccination drive on May 1 as earlier announced.
However, some states did vaccinate individuals on day one and more states followed, albeit with limited vaccine stocks. These limited stocks meant people had to be on their toes, always being on the lookout for vaccine slots to get lucky and eventually get vaccinated.
Bots using CoWin APIs
Some tech-savvy 18-44-year-olds however, decided to act rather smartly and tried to somewhat cheat the system. Programmers used their coding skills and whipped up applications using CoWin¡¯s APIs that allowed individuals to book slots in a matter of seconds, (sites like uner45.in gained popularity) leaving the non-tech savvy folk clueless and without any vaccination slots for them.
Also Read: CoWin App: 1.3 Crore Indians Sign Up In 8 Hours, But No Vaccine Appointments
New restrictions cripple the bots
The update was issued yesterday, dated May 5, 2021. This update, as mentioned before, limited the APIs ability to show vaccine slots availability data in real time. This meant that the bots would no longer be able to hit the request for placing the slot at the right time, increasing the number of hits and misses.
CoWin
Further, the notification highlights that now the rate limit has been set at 100 API calls per five minutes, per IP. What this means is that if a bot tries to make repeated requests, the IP would be blocked after 100 attempts in the aforementioned timeframe.
Was this purposely done to shut down third-party apps misusing CoWin API?
Now people behind CoWin haven¡¯t really gone ahead and said that these changes have been made to limit the bots to have the undue advantage that they had in the first place, but the specific barriers that have now been put into place -- whether it¡¯s delaying of real-time vaccine data or limiting the number of hits -- are surely indicative of that.
Also Read: CoWin App COVID Vaccination: App Crash Prevents People From Booking Vaccine
Mixed reactions online
This sudden shift has caused quite the kerfuffle online. Some Twitter users have lauded this move, stating that this evens out the playing field for all of us.
This is good. The API was borderline abuse. Everytime I checked on CoWin for slots it wqs getting booked in no time by the bots https://t.co/wwsdFOoc1i
¡ª Varun Krishnan (@varunkrish) May 6, 2021
#cowin api is down. I hope all the smug tech bros are angry at the government at least now ?
¡ª Not my real name????? (@beggarun) May 6, 2021
Some however are not happy with the new changes made in the APIs.
K seriously what is the point of creating an open API, if it has unusable data in it. We as a community were helping the people get better access to vaccine slots. not the other way around. @Arogyasetu #CoWin #CowinApp
¡ª athil gafoor (@athilgafoor) May 6, 2021
Some are still clueless as to why their solution isn¡¯t working as it used to
.@Arogyasetu @MoHFW_INDIA your COWIN API says slot available. The portal shows it's not.
¡ª Arumoy (@arumoy_c) May 6, 2021
WTH is going on? Where's data consistency?
@shubhendusharma @jeroznishanth Don't think your vaccine finder is working as of now. Is it coz of the API tweaks Cowin did yesterday?
¡ª The Consultant (@raulapegaya) May 6, 2021
Do you think using the API to cheat the system was fair or do you think it created an undue advantage for a certain group of people leaving the non-tech-savvy bunch helpless? Tell us in the comments below.
