It is, indeed, here. After much anticipation, the NHS COVID App. I’m not a privacy expert, but having been talked through the way the data is handled in a preview the other day - decentralised, anonymised - I’m happy to download it for exposure notification.
My feeling is we need to give it a go and see if it works.
My underlying concern is that the app is extremely reliant on (1)
joined up, consistent comms about risk, (2) tests being available and (3) results being processed quickly.
I know some privacy campaigners are unhappy about the QR codes, but I gather the model for this was New Zealand, which seems to be working well. I’m not sure if that function necessarily belongs in this app, but 🤷🏻♀️. It’s there and there’s no compulsion to use it.
The question remains as to whether anyone will self-isolate based on a push notification if they can’t quickly get a test. But till there is a vaccine we’re going to have to get used to changing our behaviour based on best guesses anyway.
This is absolutely true 👇. The effectiveness of the app depends on a holistic sheltering and protection strategy across government. Tech, as they say, won’t save us on its own.
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