With COVID-19 tracing apps comes privacy tradeoffs: Here's why you should be worried
4 years, 8 months ago

With COVID-19 tracing apps comes privacy tradeoffs: Here's why you should be worried

India TV News  

As governments around the world consider how to monitor new coronavirus outbreaks while reopening their societies, many are starting to bet on smartphone apps to help stanch the pandemic. “Governments and public health want to be able to track people” to minimize the spread of COVID-19, but people are less likely to download a voluntary app if it is intrusive, she said. Utah is the first U.S. state to embrace a similar approach with an app called Healthy Together, developed by a social media startup previously focused on helping young people hang out with nearby friends. If one person using the app is later confirmed to have COVID-19, public health authorities can use that stored data to identify and notify other people who may have been exposed. “It’s unlikely that automated alerts are going to be enough,” said Jared Allgood, Twenty’s chief strategy officer and a Utah resident, citing estimates that the peer-to-peer models would need most people participating to be effective.

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History of this topic

Aarogya Setu app contact-tracing data deleted: IT Ministry
1 year, 11 months ago

Aarogya Setu app contact-tracing data deleted: IT Ministry

The Hindu  

Contact-tracing data from the COVID-19 pandemic collected by the Aarogya Setu app has been deleted from government databases, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said in a written response in Parliament. “In accordance with the provisions of the, the contact-tracing feature of the Aarogya Setu mobile application has been discontinued and contact-tracing data collected through it has been deleted,” …

COVID tracking app usage on the rise despite concerns of complacency in the NT
3 years, 7 months ago

COVID tracking app usage on the rise despite concerns of complacency in the NT

ABC  

In Darwin's CBD, Faith McMurtrie is busy giving her customers their daily caffeine fix. Key points: The Territory Check-In app has been used almost four million times since December Some residents are concerned about a level of complacency in the community The Health Minister is encouraging Territorians to continue using the app As she works the coffee machine at her …

Apple, Google's COVID-19 tracing tech saved thousands of lives in UK, about time India gets it too
3 years, 7 months ago

Apple, Google's COVID-19 tracing tech saved thousands of lives in UK, about time India gets it too

India Today  

Apple and Google joined hands to develop the Exposure Notifications System to contact trace and alert users about possible COVID-19 exposure. Now a report has claimed that the contact tracing tech has saved lives of between 4,200 and 8,700 users in the UK. “Our analysis suggests a large number of COVID-19 cases were averted by contact tracing via the NHS …

Google Covid-19 Contact Tracing App Flaw Could Leak Sensitive Health Data: Report
3 years, 8 months ago

Google Covid-19 Contact Tracing App Flaw Could Leak Sensitive Health Data: Report

News 18  

Google, in a rare turn of events, joined hands with fellow big tech firm Apple to bring forth a privacy focused Covid-19 contact tracing effort at the height of the pandemic’s breakout in 2020. The report, coming from The Markup in partnership with the founders of mobile privacy analysis firm AppCensus, states a one-line flaw in the Google Covid-19 contact …

COVID app triggers overdue debate on privacy in Singapore
3 years, 11 months ago

COVID app triggers overdue debate on privacy in Singapore

Al Jazeera  

Government forced to amend law around app after it emerges police used the data to investigate a number of crimes. Under the new amendments to the COVID-19 Act, passed in the Singapore Parliament this month, personal data collected by digital pandemic contact-tracing programmes can only be used to contact trace, unless it is required by law enforcement for investigations into …

Fine-tuning the State-of-the-app technology
3 years, 11 months ago

Fine-tuning the State-of-the-app technology

The Hindu  

On January 13 this year, subscribers of English newspapers in India woke up to full-page Platforms and COVID-19 The issue of privacy is crucial for government technology platforms and services as governments typically have a monopoly in providing public services, unlike the private sector. An assessment of the 35 mobile applications revealed that 17 mobile apps provide information on COVID-19 …

Singapore COVID-19 contact-tracing data accessible to police
4 years ago

Singapore COVID-19 contact-tracing data accessible to police

The Hindu  

Singapore said on Monday its police will be able to use data obtained by its coronavirus contact-tracing technology for criminal investigations, a decision likely to increase privacy concerns around the system. to obtain any data, including TraceTogether data, for criminal investigations,” Minister of State for Home Affairs Desmond Tan said in response to a question in parliament. The privacy statement …

California’s new contact-tracing app: What you need to know
4 years, 1 month ago

California’s new contact-tracing app: What you need to know

LA Times  

Gavin Newsom has announced a voluntary smartphone app to alert people if they were in close contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus. Called CA Notify, the app relies on a tech framework created by Apple and Google that uses Apple and Android phones’ short-range Bluetooth radios to determine when two devices have been near one another for …

EU to link national COVID-19 tracing apps together
4 years, 2 months ago

EU to link national COVID-19 tracing apps together

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The European Commission on Monday …

Another privacy risk uncovered in Dutch Covid app
4 years, 3 months ago

Another privacy risk uncovered in Dutch Covid app

NL Times  

Researchers from Radically Open Security uncovered another privacy risk with the Dutch government's coronavirus warning app CoronaMelder. GGD employees can check whether someone who just tested positive for Covid-19 is using the app, and then use the app to warn their close contacts. The GGD employee being able to check whether the patient sent out the notification, also endangers the …

As Europe faces 2nd wave of virus, tracing apps lack impact
4 years, 3 months ago

As Europe faces 2nd wave of virus, tracing apps lack impact

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Mobile apps tracing new COVID-19 …

India: Health workers alarmed over ‘black holes’ in COVID-19 apps
4 years, 4 months ago

India: Health workers alarmed over ‘black holes’ in COVID-19 apps

Al Jazeera  

Health officials and lawyers have expressed worry about unclear terms on issues like data retention and sharing. Many of India’s state apps were launched even as the central government brought out its coronavirus contact-tracing app Aarogya Setu, or “Health Bridge”, in early April, which has been downloaded by more than 152 million people, according to the National Informatics Centre. “While …

Contact Tracing Apps May Be Ineffective in Reducing Covid-19 Spread: Study
4 years, 4 months ago

Contact Tracing Apps May Be Ineffective in Reducing Covid-19 Spread: Study

News 18  

Contact tracing apps are unlikely to contain the spread of COVID-19 without proper public health control measures such as physical distancing and closure of indoor spaces, according to a review of studies. "Across a number of modelling studies, we found a consistent picture that although automated contact tracing could support manual contact tracing, the systems will require large-scale uptake by …

Dutch privacy watchdog says coronavirus app still needs work
4 years, 4 months ago

Dutch privacy watchdog says coronavirus app still needs work

Dutch News  

Dutch privacy watchdog AP has told the health ministry not to press ahead yet with its coronavirus tracking app, because various questions still remain about security and personal data controls. The app is part of a system and all other parts of that system should deal properly with privacy as well.’ Use of the app should also be regulated in …

Covid app downloaded 100,000 times despite privacy concerns
4 years, 4 months ago

Covid app downloaded 100,000 times despite privacy concerns

NL Times  

The Dutch government's coronavirus notification app CoronaMelder was massively downloaded on the first day of its release, despite warnings from the Dutch Data Protection Authority that the app does not guarantee users' privacy sufficiently. Within a day, the app was downloaded over 100 thousand times from the Google Play Store, RTL Nieuws reports. After the app became available to download …

UK Begins Testing a New App to Fight Covid-19 Spread
4 years, 4 months ago

UK Begins Testing a New App to Fight Covid-19 Spread

News 18  

Britain started testing a new smartphone app Thursday to help people find out whether they've been close to someone infected with COVID-19 after security concerns torpedoed an earlier effort to use technology to track the disease. The Department of Health and Social Care said that trials of the app began on the Isle of Wight, with testing in the London …

How does COVIDSafe compare to Europe's contact tracing apps?
4 years, 5 months ago

How does COVIDSafe compare to Europe's contact tracing apps?

ABC  

COVIDSafe was sold as Australia's ticket out of lockdown. And although we do not yet have sufficient empirical data comparing the performance of available models, she suggested it's likely apps built using the Google-Apple framework will work more reliably than COVIDSafe because the Bluetooth detection technique is built into the devices' operating systems. But there is also concern in Europe …

Coronavirus: Government’s test and trace system failing in areas battling major outbreaks, leaked analysis reveals
4 years, 5 months ago

Coronavirus: Government’s test and trace system failing in areas battling major outbreaks, leaked analysis reveals

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Leaked analysis obtained by The Independent shows that across northwest England, the national tracing service …

Aarogya Setu now world's most downloaded covid-19 tracking app
4 years, 5 months ago

Aarogya Setu now world's most downloaded covid-19 tracking app

India Today  

Aarogya Setu has emerged as the world's most downloaded covid-19 tracing app, according to the latest report by Sensor Tower. But while the total number of downloads of the Aarogya Setu was the highest globally, India was the fourth country in terms of the adoption rate of the covid-19 tracking app. India secured the fourth position, registering the adoption of …

Coronavirus UK: Tracking app dropped for Apple and Google tech
4 years, 6 months ago

Coronavirus UK: Tracking app dropped for Apple and Google tech

Daily Mail  

Matt Hancock tonight insisted Britain will eventually get a Covid-19 tracking app that works after ministers abandoned NHS-made technology following its failure in a trial on the Isle of Wight. Baroness Dido Harding, who is in charge of test and trace, today revealed the NHS's app did not work on iPhones The app developed by the NHS didn't work for …

Privacy fears over COVID apps by Bahrain, Kuwait, Norway
4 years, 6 months ago

Privacy fears over COVID apps by Bahrain, Kuwait, Norway

Al Jazeera  

Live tracking of users’ locations puts thousands of people at risk, Amnesty International says. Amnesty International has raised privacy and security concerns over “invasive” contact-tracing apps rolled out by Bahrain, Kuwait and Norway to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The UK-based rights group said on Tuesday an investigation into COVID-19 apps being used by 11 countries had rated Bahrain’s “BeAware Bahrain”, …

Opinion sharply divided about using an app to trace coronavirus cases
4 years, 7 months ago

Opinion sharply divided about using an app to trace coronavirus cases

Dutch News  

There is sharply divided support for a coronavirus tracing app among the Dutch and only one third say they would download it without question, according to research carried out by Delft, Maastricht and the VU universities. A further one third of the random sample of 926 people who took part in the research said they had doubts about using an …

Dutch divided on coronavirus tracking app
4 years, 7 months ago

Dutch divided on coronavirus tracking app

NL Times  

The Netherlands population is almost evenly divided on the use of an app to track who was in touch with someone diagnosed with the coronavirus, according to a survey by public health institute RIVM and Dutch universities among a representative group of 926 Dutch. Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health previously said that at least 60 percent of the …

Coronavirus: Government’s contact tracing app could ‘exacerbate health inequalities’
4 years, 7 months ago

Coronavirus: Government’s contact tracing app could ‘exacerbate health inequalities’

The Independent  

Only half of manual workers, the unemployed and state pensioners say they will download the government’s contact tracing app, according to a new survey, sparking fresh concerns that the system could exacerbate health inequalities. Adam Steventon, director of data analytics at the Health Foundation, said: “The NHS contact tracing app could play a critical role in the fight against Covid-19, …

Coronavirus tracking app code unveiled; final version to come next month
4 years, 7 months ago

Coronavirus tracking app code unveiled; final version to come next month

NL Times  

A beta version of the government-backed coronavirus tracking app has has been released to the public on Wednesday, with the final product being expected sometime in June, Minister of Health Hugo de Jonge confirmed on Wednesday. This follows nearly a month on from the government's appointment of a team of experienced developers to design the app, with the final product …

Canada to ramp up COVID-19 testing and tracing, working closely with Apple, Google on mobile app
4 years, 7 months ago

Canada to ramp up COVID-19 testing and tracing, working closely with Apple, Google on mobile app

Firstpost  

Canada’s total cases rose to 81,765 on Friday, and deaths were up less than 2 percent to 6,180. Canada will ramp up COVID-19 testing and contact tracing as it gradually lifts restrictions and is working closely with Apple and Google on a mobile phone app to help, the prime minister said on Friday. In his daily news conference, Prime Minister …

Covid-19: Aarogya Setu needs legislative backing
4 years, 7 months ago

Covid-19: Aarogya Setu needs legislative backing

Hindustan Times  

The government’s decision to make the coronavirus tracking application, Aarogya Setu, mandatory in many spheres of life brings constitutional challenges such as the right to privacy of citizens. In 1996, in PUCL Vs Union of India, the Court formulated guidelines imposing substantive and procedural restraints, while holding that the right to privacy includes informational privacy and confidentiality. In the absence …

Apple and Google share contact tracing technology that can help fight coronvirus
4 years, 7 months ago

Apple and Google share contact tracing technology that can help fight coronvirus

India Today  

Authorities in 23 countries across five continents have sought access to contact tracing technology from Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google, the companies announced on Wednesday as they released the initial version of their system, as reported by Reuters. But authorities would have to stop requiring phone numbers from users under the companies’ rules, one of several restrictions that have …

Google and Apple release technology to help with coronavirus contact tracing
4 years, 7 months ago

Google and Apple release technology to help with coronavirus contact tracing

ABC  

New technology that could help alert people who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 is being tested to determine if it will work in Australia. Key points: Technology could help solve issues plaguing apps like COVIDSafe Technology could help solve issues plaguing apps like COVIDSafe App users who test positive would decide to notify people they …

Coronavirus: Government admits NHS app will not be ready for launch of contact tracing scheme
4 years, 7 months ago

Coronavirus: Government admits NHS app will not be ready for launch of contact tracing scheme

The Independent  

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. A spokesperson for Sir Keir Starmer said: “What we are calling for is for the …

Data | How safe is Aarogya Setu compared to COVID-19 contact tracing apps of other countries?
4 years, 7 months ago

Data | How safe is Aarogya Setu compared to COVID-19 contact tracing apps of other countries?

The Hindu  

According to a database maintained by MIT Technology Review, Aarogya Setu, India’s contact-tracing app to combat COVID-19, poses significant risks to the privacy of the user compared to similar apps in other countries. The apps in China and Turkey pose greater risks for user privacy than Aarogya Setu. The following table lists government-backed apps of 19 countries based on five …

India follows China's lead to widen use of coronavirus tracing app
4 years, 7 months ago

India follows China's lead to widen use of coronavirus tracing app

India Today  

India is aggressively pushing a state-backed contact tracing app to fight the spread of COVID-19, raising fears that the world’s second-most populous nation is on its way to Chinese-style methods of high tech social control, says Reuters. It made India the world’s only democratic country to make the use of a contact tracing app mandatory for its citizens, according to …

How Effective Are Contact Tracing Apps?
4 years, 7 months ago

How Effective Are Contact Tracing Apps?

Slate  

This article is part of Privacy in the Pandemic, a Future Tense series. But we still don’t really know how effective contact tracing apps actually are—particularly in societies that don’t already have a vast surveillance infrastructure. Iceland’s success in managing COVID-19 might instead be attributed to other factors, including the country’s early testing of high-risk individuals before it even confirmed …

Coronavirus tracing app COVIDSafe now fully functional, Deputy Chief Medical Officer confirms
4 years, 7 months ago

Coronavirus tracing app COVIDSafe now fully functional, Deputy Chief Medical Officer confirms

ABC  

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has confirmed the Federal Government's coronavirus tracing app is now working after all states and territories signed up to allow its use. Key points: Health authorities nation-wide now have access to the app's data Health authorities nation-wide now have access to the app's data States and Territories have worked out privacy and security rules …

Corona apps well-intentioned but privacy concerns must be addressed
4 years, 7 months ago

Corona apps well-intentioned but privacy concerns must be addressed

India Today  

A massive data leak from the mobile phone-based Quarantine Monitoring System of the Madhya Pradesh government has sharpened the debate on privacy around the central government’s similar Aarogya Setu app. While the idea of such data platforms and mobile applications world-over is to disseminate useful information regarding the spread of cases in the neighbourhood to people and assist government agencies …

Coronavirus tracking app ready for beta testing by end May
4 years, 8 months ago

Coronavirus tracking app ready for beta testing by end May

NL Times  

The Dutch government appointed a team of experienced developers to create its coronavirus tracking app and hopes to have the first version ready for beta testing by end May, Minister Hugo de Jonge of Public Health said to parliament. The Ministry of Public Health decided to develop its own tracking app after a previous attempt to get such an app …

Surveillance system or Covid-19 tracker? Coronavirus tracing Aarogya Setu app raises privacy concerns in India
4 years, 8 months ago

Surveillance system or Covid-19 tracker? Coronavirus tracing Aarogya Setu app raises privacy concerns in India

Hindustan Times  

As India enters an extended coronavirus lockdown, the government is actively pursuing contact tracing to help control infections. In this Thursday, May 7, 2020 photo, an Indian man uses Aarogya Setu app on his mobile phone in New Delhi, India. In April, India launched the Aarogya Setu app, which helps people identify whether they have been near someone who tested …

Can Australia's coronavirus contact tracing app COVIDSafe lift the country out of lockdown?
4 years, 8 months ago

Can Australia's coronavirus contact tracing app COVIDSafe lift the country out of lockdown?

ABC  

To speed up the process of contacting people who may have been exposed to coronavirus, the Federal Government is asking Australians to download its new COVIDSafe app. "If 40 per cent of people download the app, and if we're optimistic, half of those people are using it properly at all times — including having it running and open in the …

Here come COVID-19 tracing apps - and privacy trade-offs
4 years, 8 months ago

Here come COVID-19 tracing apps - and privacy trade-offs

Associated Press  

As governments around the world consider how to monitor new coronavirus outbreaks while reopening their societies, many are starting to bet on smartphone apps to help stanch the pandemic. “Governments and public health want to be able to track people” to minimize the spread of COVID-19, but people are less likely to download a voluntary app if it is intrusive, …

Coronavirus contact-tracing app could make 'privacy and rights another casualty of the virus', campaigners warn
4 years, 8 months ago

Coronavirus contact-tracing app could make 'privacy and rights another casualty of the virus', campaigners warn

The Independent  

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The coronavirus contact-tracing app could make the UK's privacy "another casualty" of the …

App for one season: on Centre's directive to use Arogya Setu
4 years, 8 months ago

App for one season: on Centre's directive to use Arogya Setu

The Hindu  

The Centre’s national directive for the mandatory use of its contact tracing app, Aarogya Setu, as part of its COVID-19 combat measures, falls short of established legal standards for the protection of privacy. Going by the directive issued under the Disaster Management Act, all people residing in ‘containment zones’, all government and public sector staff and all employees, both public …

European virus tracing apps highlight battle for privacy
4 years, 8 months ago

European virus tracing apps highlight battle for privacy

Associated Press  

LONDON — Goodbye lockdown, hello smartphone. As governments race to develop mobile tracing apps to help contain infections, attention is turning to how officials will ensure users’ privacy. Some governments are backing the centralized model because it could provide more data to aid decisionmaking, but nearly 600 scientists from more than two dozen countries have signed an open letter warning …

UK testing coronavirus contact tracing app on Isle of Wight
4 years, 8 months ago

UK testing coronavirus contact tracing app on Isle of Wight

CNN  

London CNN Business — The UK government launched its first test of a coronavirus contact tracing appthis week on a small island off the south coast of England. The app, which was developed by the digital technology unit of the National Health Service, will also upload information to a central database to help public health experts study the behavior of …

Apple and Google show what their contact tracing system could look like
4 years, 8 months ago

Apple and Google show what their contact tracing system could look like

CNN  

San Francisco CNN Business — Apple and Google just provided a first look at how public health apps could use the coronavirus contact tracing software they are jointly developing. The two tech companies shared a series of images and guidelines on Monday for governments and public health authorities to integrate with their contact tracing apps, including how users will be …

‘Privacy minefield’: India COVID-19 app raises surveillance fears
4 years, 8 months ago

‘Privacy minefield’: India COVID-19 app raises surveillance fears

Al Jazeera  

Experts raise privacy concerns over government’s Aarogya Setu app, now mandatory for public and private sector workers. Indian authorities have made a contact-tracing mobile app mandatory for all public and private sector employees, raising concerns among digital rights experts about privacy and increased surveillance. “Use of Aarogya Setu app shall be made mandatory for all employees, both private and public,” …

Majority would use a coronavirus tracing app, research shows
4 years, 8 months ago

Majority would use a coronavirus tracing app, research shows

Dutch News  

Over half the Dutch would be prepared to use an app to trace coronavirus infections if it met proper guarantees on privacy and security, the AD reported on Thursday. Young adults are the most likely to agree to use an app which would use bluetooth technology to alert them if they have been close to a coronavirus patient, the researchers …

Majority of Dutch willing to use safe coronavirus tracking app: study
4 years, 8 months ago

Majority of Dutch willing to use safe coronavirus tracking app: study

NL Times  

More than half of Netherlands residents are willing to install a coronavirus tracking app on their phone, provided that the app meets all privacy and security requirements, according to a study by Erasmus University in Rotterdam among a representative group of 900 Dutch people, AD reports. Teenagers and young adults in particular are willing to install an app that will …

Australia has COVIDSafe. Here is how other countries are using contact tracing apps in the fight against coronavirus
4 years, 8 months ago

Australia has COVIDSafe. Here is how other countries are using contact tracing apps in the fight against coronavirus

ABC  

More than 2 million Australians have downloaded the Government's COVID-19 tracing app, COVIDSafe. Using mobile phone location data, along with the country's prolific CCTV and credit card transaction records, authorities retrospectively track the movements of people who later test positive. The practice of authorities accessing mobile phone location data purely for contact tracing is not legal in Australia. The country …

Will the Government's coronavirus app COVIDSafe keep your data secure? Here's what the experts say
4 years, 8 months ago

Will the Government's coronavirus app COVIDSafe keep your data secure? Here's what the experts say

ABC  

The Government's contact-tracing app COVIDSafe aims to help track down people who may have been exposed to COVID-19. A spokesperson for Government Services Minister Stuart Robert did not comment on Dr Merkel's analysis, but said "the exchange of the encrypted user ID uses a standard Bluetooth exchange". On Sunday, Health Minister Greg Hunt shared a determination under the Biosecurity Act …

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