NHS Covid 19 App

[Supine]

My point was that if it included location data it could see if I was quarantining properly or not.

Apple/Google wouldnt allow that. It's one of the reasons the Gov wanted to do their own app originally I think.

 

[weltweit]

But it doesn't, so you're OK

Wouldn't be the end of the world if it did but would probably put a lot more people off installing the app.

Apple/Google wouldnt allow that. It's one of the reasons the Gov wanted to do their own app originally I think.

Aha.
Are people in authority permitted to ask to see your app status?
Assuming it will display your status?

 

[moochedit]

Wouldn't be the end of the world if it did but would probably put a lot more people off installing the app.


Aha.
Are people in authority permitted to ask to see your app status?
Assuming it will display your status?

I think it works by people who go to the doctors or hospital with symptoms are asked if they have the app and can they have the data.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

Wouldn't be the end of the world if it did but would probably put a lot more people off installing the app.


Aha.
Are people in authority permitted to ask to see your app status?
Assuming it will display your status?

Well they can ask but there's no law that says you have to let them look at what's on your phone. (Not in this instance anyway.)

 

[FridgeMagnet]

I think it works by people who go to the doctors or hospital with symptoms are asked if they have the app and can they have the data.

As far as I understand it if you have a positive test you enter the code into the app and then it will do notifications to people who were in close contact - all on an anonymous basis. So nobody can actually tell whether or not you need to isolate apart from you.

 

[weltweit]

This may be a silly question.

Say person A tests positive, their app informs person B with whom person A spent more than 15 minutes in the last day or so that they should self isolate.

Say I (person C) spent more than 15 minutes with person B yesterday (person B not person A) would I also be contacted and asked to self isolate? How deep does it go?

 

[LDC]

My point was that if it included location data it could see if I was quarantining properly or not.

Stop inventing problems that don't exist.

 

[LDC]

This may be a silly question.

Say person A tests positive, their app informs person B with whom person A spent more than 15 minutes in the last day or so that they should self isolate.

Say I (person C) spent more than 15 minutes with person B yesterday (person B not person A) would I also be contacted and asked to self isolate? How deep does it go?

Ditto. Go and read the advice website, some of this might help you understand this.

Short answer; no person C doesn't isolate unless person B tests positive and C had been a close contact of theirs while B was infectious.

 

[existentialist]

Wouldn't be the end of the world if it did but would probably put a lot more people off installing the app.

Almost certainly me, for a start

 

[Roadkill]

As far as I understand it if you have a positive test you enter the code into the app and then it will do notifications to people who were in close contact - all on an anonymous basis. So nobody can actually tell whether or not you need to isolate apart from you.

That's my understanding of it. They do actually say somewhere on the privacy notice (IIRC) that in some circumstances you might be able to work out who has generated the alert, but presumably that applies mainly to those who might only spend time with one or two people in a fortnight, who probably won't need an app to work out who the contact might have been anyway.

 

[Sunray]

the qr code for checking in is enormous, but allows you to check in from quite some distance away. Seems to have got pretty wide spread support at pubs. It’s just a small tool to use against the virus.
It’s fully anonymous, it runs, hard to tell if it’s doing the job as it doesn’t tell you much. I’d like a gui to show all the people it picked up and where.

Edit to add: No problems with my battery, had it for a about a week. iPhone X

 

[TopCat]

Morning all. I had a notification this morning via the app saying some one close to me tested positive. I clicked on it and it sent me to the app but the app appears just the same and the notification has gone. The app shows it communicated with me 26 mins ago.

How do I access the notification?

 

[zora]

Sounds like it could be this?

Could it be this again? I don't know why they are sending these weird default messages, but apparently it's a thing.

 

[souljacker]

TopCat Lots of people are getting these apparently. People were blaming the Google API last I heard. Advice is to ignore them.

 

[Roadkill]

I'm amazed at how light on the battery the app is. I had it on all day yesterday as I was out and about, forgot to put my phone on charge overnight, and it still reckons I've battery enough for two days!

 

[Orang Utan]

Could it be this again? I don't know why they are sending these weird default messages, but apparently it's a thing.

I got one this morning

 

[existentialist]

Could it be this again? I don't know why they are sending these weird default messages, but apparently it's a thing.

I'm feeling left out, now

 

[Orang Utan]

world-beating:

Article unavailable · COVID-19 app support

 

[Cid]

 

[Cid]

To clarify - is that the false alarm people have been getting? Either way it’s not telling me to self-isolate. No further info on app.

 

[Supine]

That's what I got I think. Did it disappear and not show on the app?

I got mine just as I got off a train. Had you been doing anything when it arrived?

 

[moochedit]

I saw somethimg from the covid app flash up on sunday morning but it was so quick i didn't get a chance to read it. I assume it was one of these false alarm bugs.

 

[prunus]

To clarify - is that the false alarm people have been getting? Either way it’s not telling me to self-isolate. No further info on app.

I think that’s a halfway false alarm - it’s telling you it’s assessing a possible exposure, but if it’s not telling you to isolate, with a countdown timer and all the gubbins, so you can ignore it. Or it might be a full on ‘testing’ actual false alarm. Either way you’re safe to ignore, apparently there’s no mistaking when you’re supposed to isolate.

e2a: this short thread seems to explain it:

 

[mwgdrwg]

Just delete it, total rubbish not worth installing.

 

[Cid]

Just delete it, total rubbish not worth installing.

Any particular reason for that thought?

 

[mwgdrwg]

Any particular reason for that thought?

Not enough people will install it to make it effective, they are probably keeping all the metadata in an excel file, it's already sending phantom alerts, there is a fucking horrible 'check in' functionality that is way beyond what other countries are doing. Off the top of my head.

 

[gentlegreen]

I'm being bugged multiple times per day about this thing on various platforms

 

[LDC]

Just delete it, total rubbish not worth installing.

Obviously speaking from an in-depth understanding of it.

 

[Chilli.s]

Why would it send what amount to worrying false alarms to people? It's meant to be serious not pokemon hunter.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Why would it send what amount to worrying false alarms to people? It's meant to be serious not pokemon hunter.

It's down to Apple and Google.

It appears that this again may be connected to the Apple-Google system, which sometimes sends out what are called exposure notifications. Here's what the FAQ from the app team says about this issue:

"These are default messages from Apple and Google. There is no need to be concerned if you miss or overlook them, they are just visible to remind you that the functionality is on and working. You're currently not able to turn off these default Apple and Google notifications.

"Important messages from the NHS Covid-19 app will always be visible to you from inside the app."

NHS Covid-19 app: 12m downloads - and lots of questions

We look at why you can't log out of a venue, and how to change your postcode on the app.

www.bbc.co.uk