# A Multidimensional Analysis of Released COVID-19 Location-Based Mobile Applications
## 4 The Framework of Mapping and Evaluating COVID-19 LBMAs
### Service Aspects of COVID-19 LBMAs  
Focusing on the type of functionalities/services provided by all included in our re-search LBMAs and taking into consideration previous literature attempts, from a user-centric value chain perspective, we suggest the following four categories of COVID-19 LBMAs \"Health Status, Preserving Contact Tracing, COVID-19 Spread Mapping, and COVID-19 Geosocial Media\" apps [17; 19; 20; 21]. The functionalities of all included mobile apps were screened individually by three external researchers to con-firm the functionality/service categorization of all included mobile apps, reading the summary and explanation given by the developers for each application in each respective database. Any disagreement was discussed until consensus was achieved.  
Health Status apps provide e-health services related to the COVID-19 including the provision ability to perform remote self-diagnosis, mostly based on the symptom's recognition for the user's perspective and distance treatment and online consultation with a health authority [22]. A typical example of Health Status is the \"Covid Symptom Tracker\" (app no 18) that asks questions to the mobile user for a preliminary check regarding COVID-19. If the users have been found suspicious for COVID-19 infection it is suggested that they get tested in the nearest hospital clinic for COVID-19.  
The Preserving Contact Tracing function is utilized in case someone infected has reached an unsafe distance with another LBMA user, such as in the case of \"Mahakavach\" (app no 106), where users contribute such information to detect potentially infected people from Coronavirus. This category also includes quarantine or home monitoring for people infected with the virus, and in most cases, must be quarantined for at least 14 days [23]. For instance, \"StayHomeSafe\" (app no 116) traces the borders of the user's home and sends a notification in case someone accidentally leaves their premises. An additional function that falls into this category is route tracking, which is justified as means of finding places visited by infected people to avoid infecting healthy people (\"Hamagen\" app no 102). A further service provided by applications in this category is safe distance using GPS (global position system) and other technologies, such as Bluetooth, to locate a person who may have reached an unsafe distance from the end-user of the app (\"MyTrace\" app no 107) [24].  
COVID-19 spread mapping involves all the LBMAs that include live maps of COVID-19 information regarding the spread of the disease. A typical example of this category is \"Corona Map\" (app no 128) where users can be informed of the COVID-19 case number in each geographical area of Saudi Arabia.  
COVID-19 geosocial media apps include COVID-19 communication and related content regarding COVID-19. For example, users of \"uLouder\" (app no 150) instantly join a local communication platform in their region. The app enables users to assist older people who need help in this emergency, such as assistance for their groceries since their exposure to the crowd might increase their risk of infection. Furthermore, the \"WeChat\" (app no 151) has raised awareness during COVID-19 since it triggered companies and developers around the world to cooperate in providing pandemic-specific services [25].