**As the NHS COVID-19 contact tracking app begins limited testing and moves towards national release,
BCS asks if the app is solving the right problems, wheather it will function correctly,
be managed competently and, ultimately, will it make a difference?** Currently, there are two certainties in life: The NHS’ COVID-19 symptom tracking app is heading
to an app store near you and, if you open up a news or social feed on your phone it will be dominated
by polarised views about that self-same app.
Common themes and questions in the media revolve around security, privacy and, ultimately, the app’s ability to help fight the virus. Recurring media topics include:
*** Is the app a thinly veiled attack on our privacy? Is it a dawn raid by a government eager to trace our movements and location?
*** Is the app flawed such that it’ll easily bleed our personal data into the hands of cyber- criminals?
*** Will the app work - will it save lives?
*** What data will the app capture and how will it be used? As you read on we’ll look at these questions and contentions. We won’t tell you what to think, rather we’ll explore reliable sources of information that’ll help us make an informed decision about whether to download the app and use it when it is offered nationally.
As an organisation, BCS has three overarching concerns about the app:
*** Is the app going to solve the right problem?
*** Is it going to function well enough technically to make a difference?
***How competently and ethically will this app be managed?
Choosing to install the app or avoid the app is an important decision. For the app to work effectively - >>>60% of the UK population will need to use it<<< If enough of us make ill-informed decisions we’ll be dooming the app to failure, irrespective of its positives and negatives.
1. Risk and reward
Bill Mitchell, Director of Policy at BCS, says: ‘A lot of debate focuses on the NHS app’s ability to do good… its ability to help prevent the spread of coronavirus versus its potential for compromising users’ privacy. The key consideration is, how much data might the app reveal? What sort of data is it? Is this data of any actual intrinsic value? Is data with a theoretical value worth more than the opportunity to slow the virus’ spread?’
Continuing, Mitchell says: ‘And remember, however much data the NHS app may reveal it will be inconsequential relative to the huge amounts of personal data we gladly - and willingly - reveal about ourselves to the internet and social media giants as we consume their services.'
2. Contact tracing apps: the theory
When it comes to fighting COVID-19, experts agree on one point: preventing transmission is a priority. The problem is, the virus is spreading too quickly for manual contact tracing to be effective. A technical solution is needed.
Most contact tracing apps work on a similar theory: they record information about your closeness to other people and how long you were near to them. As closeness increases and the duration of that closeness rises, so the probability of potential infection will go up.
Such apps try to do this anonymously and by using the very minimum amount of data. Anonymously, in this context, is generally taken to mean: without revealing much, if anything, about the user’s identity and location.
Of the different app models in development and deployment around the world, most then require the user to tell the app when they are feeling poorly. This self-identification then triggers several different responses - both at the level of the app’s interface and in the app’s back end infrastructure. It’s what happens after self-identification we’ll focus our efforts.
Further Reading About Digital Contact Tracing
>>>Quantifying SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Suggests Epidemic Control With Digital Contact Tracing<<<
>>>The Security Behind The NHS Contact Tracing App<<<
3. Part of a wider web
It’s important to note that the NHS COVID-19 app isn’t the only government response to the virus’ spread. It’s not the only data point being drawn into the pool of information being used to model and understand the contagion and its spread. Rather, the up-and-coming app is just one of many pieces of information used by public health scientists.
4. The user’s perspective: how the NHS app works
The NHS’ app is currently on test in the Isle of Wight, where only council and NHS workers can download it. The BBC’s >>>Rory Cellan-Jones was given early access<<<
>>>It works like this:
1, Download the app from Apple’s App Store or Google Play Store
2, Install and enter your post code’s first four characters
3, Allow the app to use your phone’s Bluetooth Low Energy radios
As you walk around, your phone will shake hands with other phones running the app. The contact is very thin: a tiny amount of information is exchanged (more about that in a moment). The key point is, however, it happens over Bluetooth. And, as such, the app and Bluetooth need to be running at all times.
If you’re feeling ill, you tell the app. It will then tell the system’s back end that somebody, potentially, has coronavirus and then a chain of in-app events takes place. This includes giving you health advice and, critically, suggesting to people you’ve been near that they might need to take steps.
On the surface level, many similarly tasked apps will look and do the same: you get advice, your contacts get advice. It’s what happens behind the scenes where the story gets interesting…
