Would you install and use an NHS Covid tracking app?

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

It usually takes the Government many hundreds of years to develop a piece of IT that doesn’t work...anyone thinking an app developed in a few weeks would work is in cloud cuckoo land.

[anonymous-user]

Here’s a serious idea
The government/MPs/the health experts should all download the health app.
Due to the fact that Government ministers & their health experts are more widely affected than the general population . Alok Sharma was looking a bit ropey yesterday (hope he’s ok).
Either their working environment or other reasons.
They should trial it as a real life test & to show us how effective it is & to test the track & trace.

For example if Alok does have it, presumably those sitting near him will get a call within 24 hours & have to self isolate !

Hopefully a journalist will suggest it during the daily propaganda broadcast

Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 4th June 09:15

[anonymous-user]

Dr Doofenshmirtz said:

It usually takes the Government many hundreds of years to develop a piece of IT that doesn’t work...anyone thinking an app developed in a few weeks would work is in cloud cuckoo land.

Credit where credit is due though. Under incredible pressure the government have managed to deliver an IT project that doesn't work in a fraction of the time it normally takes them!

[pequod]

fblm said:

Dr Doofenshmirtz said:

It usually takes the Government many hundreds of years to develop a piece of IT that doesn’t work...anyone thinking an app developed in a few weeks would work is in cloud cuckoo land.

Credit where credit is due though. Under incredible pressure the government have managed to deliver an IT project that doesn't work in a fraction of the time it normally takes them!

I don't recall the App trial being mentioned recently?

[pip t]

It would appear an updated version of the app is undergoing limited trials in London, if successful this will be rolled out as an update in the IoW next week. Still no firm news on any kind of national roll out.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52938660

More insidiously, Singapore, which is often held up as an example of a country utilising a centralised contact tracing app seems to be planning to fix the problems it has with it running on mobile phones by rolling out a 'wearable contact tracing device' to all citizens.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavi...

Hopefully that doesn't give our lot any ideas....

[Zirconia]

Thought I heard a story today it was now autumn before anything concrete for a national roll out? Or was that test and track etc. in general?

[21TonyK]

So hows this going to work if in your workplace if PPE is deemed unnecessary and social distancing is nigh impossible and you are not allowed to have your phone switched on or with you when working?

(schools)

[bitchstewie]

21TonyK said:

So hows this going to work if in your workplace if PPE is deemed unnecessary and social distancing is nigh impossible and you are not allowed to have your phone switched on or with you when working?

(schools)

The way you'd expect.

They change the policy around having phones switched on or it doesn't.

[Zirconia]

Privacy still and issue.
https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/04/test_and_tr...

Not just the app here, I think.

[pip t]

bhstewie said:

The way you'd expect.

They change the policy around having phones switched on or it doesn't.

Until this virus I was in and out of schools for work on a very regular basis. No rules about not having your phone with you that I’ve been made aware of. Plenty say not to use it around the kids, but no problem having it on you in your pocket. And once you get to secondary age, the vast majority of the kids have them with them too.

Zirconia said:

Privacy still and issue.
https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/04/test_and_tr...

Not just the app here, I think.

This is largely about the ‘non-app’ track & trace, but would apply to the app based system too I would have thought.

[M4cruiser]

pip t said:

It would appear an updated version of the app is undergoing limited trials in London, if successful this will be rolled out as an update in the IoW next week. Still no firm news on any kind of national roll out.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52938660

More insidiously, Singapore, which is often held up as an example of a country utilising a centralised contact tracing app seems to be planning to fix the problems it has with it running on mobile phones by rolling out a 'wearable contact tracing device' to all citizens.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavi...

Hopefully that doesn't give our lot any ideas....

I'd say many people are still hugely worried about privacy issues and accuracy of the system(s). The electronic version has obviously hit technical problems as well, which are being hushed up, but I suppose the Government isn't obliged to reveal the problems anyway, as it was only a trial.

[anonymous-user]

21TonyK said:

So hows this going to work if in your workplace if PPE is deemed unnecessary and social distancing is nigh impossible and you are not allowed to have your phone switched on or with you when working?

(schools)

Why can't you have a phone on in school?

[V1nce Fox]

fblm said:

21TonyK said:

So hows this going to work if in your workplace if PPE is deemed unnecessary and social distancing is nigh impossible and you are not allowed to have your phone switched on or with you when working?

(schools)

Why can't you have a phone on in school?

You can. That's not true.

[Jasandjules]

M4cruiser said:

I'd say many people are still hugely worried about privacy issues and accuracy of the system(s). The electronic version has obviously hit technical problems as well, which are being hushed up, but I suppose the Government isn't obliged to reveal the problems anyway, as it was only a trial.

Well it appears the Govt is busy selling medical information to third parties soooo little wonder

[V1nce Fox]

pip t said:

(...) More insidiously, Singapore, which is often held up as an example of a country utilising a centralised contact tracing app seems to be planning to fix the problems it has with it running on mobile phones by rolling out a 'wearable contact tracing device' to all citizens.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavi...

Hopefully that doesn't give our lot any ideas....

and they can fk RIGHT off to that as well.

[anonymous-user]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52995881

A fair chance that the app will be binned:-

Researchers warned signal strength "can vary substantially" depending on:
how deeply a handset is placed in a bag
whether the signal has to pass through a human body to reach the other phone
if the two people are walking side-by-side or one behind the other
if the devices are indoors rather than outdoors
whether the smartphone is surrounded by metal objects

[grumbledoak]

Norway abandons their Track and Trace app on privacy concerns
https://news.trust.org/item/20200615093441-2mejc/

[pequod]

grumbledoak said:

Norway abandons their Track and Trace app on privacy concerns
https://news.trust.org/item/20200615093441-2mejc/

Ha! And we will be next. A complete waste of money yet again, as many on here who are involved with IT systems, could have told them when this was first proposed. Don't misunderstand, I thought this may help to assuage the fears of the great unwashed and get the economy up and running asap, but clearly it can't work properly unless you have a clear identity link to their phones which is beyond the limitations of the law.

[Zirconia]

No app until winter now.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53083340

No longer a priority.

[edh]

Switching to Decentralised Model...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53095336

Is there nothing this govt won't screw up?