COVID-19 Apps Launched by Different Countries: Features and
Privacy Issues
Tags: android, ios, security
Published: 2020-12-19 05:14:06

Most countries have launched some apps or digital platforms to contact trace coronavirus infections. These COVID-19 apps aim to collect movement data of a person and alert them with a potential risk of information. These apps use GPS to track movement and Bluetooth (BT) as a proximity sensor.

Since the launch of these apps, experts and activists have raised concerns regarding privacy and user data protection. MIT Tech Review has rated these apps based on five parameters:

**Voluntary -** A person decides the usage
**Limited -** Data can only be used for COVID-19 tracing by health authorities
**Expunging Data -** Clear declaration destroying all user data once the pandemic is over
**Minimal -** Only information relevant to tracing is taken by the app
**Transparency -** Source code is made public, policies and design are in public domain

Let's understand the features of various COVID-19 apps launched by countries.

**1. Australia - COVIDSafe (4/5)**

This app was released on 26th April 2020, and over the period, went through many updates. The app's use was voluntary after the initial confusion, and about 23% of the country's population downloaded it till June end. It does not use GPS for location tracing but only uses BT to record one user's proximity from another. The data can be used later to find potential infections. It faced severe criticism due to privacy concerns. The authorities have to release the app's source code and introduce an amendment in privacy law, called Bio-security Determination 2020. It was also ridiculed in media because it failed to contact trace a single person till mid-June. It loses one point for a lack of transparency.

**2. Canada - COVID Alert* (5/5)**

This app was launched on 31st July 2020 with BT contact tracing. Users are assigned with codes, and negative/positive status can be fed manually. Alerts are sent to contacts made in the last 14 days. The main feature is privacy protection. Its source code is already open, and it does not collect user data, such as name, address, location, and contact info.

**3. France - Stop COVID (4/5)**

After weeks of debate and confusion over using Google/Apple contact tracing API, the app was finally launched at the beginning of June. This app uses BT Low Energy to assign codes to devices around you. If a person is found positive, a code generated by a health official is entered into the app, and a notification is sent to everyone who came in contact with him. The app was declared privacy protected, but recommendations were issued to make it safer by France's privacy and data commission. It loses one point for unclear data usage policy. 

**4. Germany - Corona-Warn-App (4/5)**

The app uses BT Low Energy to identify people around and check for positive persons who have voluntarily shared the details. It then alerts you, and if no such person is found, it deletes the local data and stores it in server only to be identified by regularly changing keys. This app is high on privacy, but iOS users reported some issues related to failure in warnings. Clear guidelines are not available on limitations on data usage.

**5. India - Aarogya Setu (2/5)**

It is the only democracy to make a COVID-19 app mandatory at workplaces. Launched on 2nd April 2020, this app uses both GPS and BT to trace the location and provide proximity warnings. It also collects users with personal information and has been criticized heavily by activists and privacy lawyers. The app's source code was made public after outrage, but there is no declaration of limitation on data use. Mandatory usage, unclear limitations on data, and personal data use are the reasons behind its poor rating.

**6. Israel - HaMagen (The Shield) (4/5)**

It was developed by the Ministry of Health in March 2020. It used a phone's GPS for location tracking. According to the Ministry, the data was not shared with the government but stored locally in the device's internal memory. The location history was compared with epidemiological data of known cases to alert contact. There were issues reported, like in some instances, positive contact was shown when there was none. The app has now been shifted to use BT instead of GPS and relaunched on 27th July. It loses one point because of the mandatory use.

**7. Italy - Immuni (5/5)**

Trails of this app were started on 8th June 2020, and it was launched a week later. It is voluntary, but it was needed to be used by 10% of the population to work effectively. Till mid-June, only 3.7% were using it, which raised concern over its effectiveness. It uses only BT and doesn't ask for private information except for the city. Each phone remembers its proximity history, and when a positive case is found, alerts are sent to all with contact history. The app was developed in compliance with European Legislation to protect privacy.

**8. Japan - Cocoa (4/5)**

The app was developed by Microsoft engineers and based on Google and Apple's co-developed exposure notification program. It uses only BT. It is called COCOA by people, but it is listed as the COVID-19 Contact App on the app store. The app mentions that it doesn't collect any personal information or Geo-location of the user. Data is recorded in an encrypted form of users within 1 meter for more than 15 minutes and are notified when one of them tests positive. Though, limitations on personal data use are not announced.

**9. Norway - Smittestopp (3/5)**

It became the first app to be pulled down by the authorities due to privacy and user data leakage concerns. It was discontinued, and all user data was destroyed on 15th June 2020. The app was one of the first to be launched to enable phone-based contact tracing. The development was marred with disagreements between developers and the data protection agency. Many apps developed later took privacy seriously because of it. It used GPS for location tracking, which was deemed unnecessary by experts. Lack of transparency and personal data leak has caused the loss of rating.

**10. Switzerland - SwissCOVID (5/5)**

The app was launched on 25th June 2020. It was the first European app to use the Application Programming Interface (API) developed by Google and Apple. It hit a peak usage of 1.6 million (20% of the total population) but has been steadily falling after it. It was only launched after Switzerland's Parliament gave it approval after scrutinizing privacy-related concerns. It does not rely on centralized data collection and only collected data when two users came in contact. Its use is voluntary and takes the help of BT short-range radio technology.

**11. China - China Health Code System (0/5)**

There is little information regarding the Chinese system, Alipay Health Code, as it is called in local media. It requires personal information and does location tracking. It assigns the user a color code (Red, Yellow, or Green) based on travel history and contact history. Though there are doubts related to this. It also shares users' information with authorities and can restrict a person from entering malls, restaurants, subway, etc. Organizations use the data to regulate their workforce, and orders can be given to isolating people. This system is termed as a huge risk to the privacy of the citizens. Nothing to say about ratings.

**12. United Kingdom - NHS COVID 19 App (not rated)**

UK has been in refusal mode to adopt Google/Apple API for COVID contact tracing. But, slowly, it has realized the importance of such technology and trails have started in some parts of the country since 13th August 2020. The new app is based on the API. It has features like QR code for entry in places, exposure alert system, isolation countdown timer, and symptom checking tool. It is still very inaccurate when it comes to proximity sensing at 45% false positives.

**13. USA**

It has not launched any nation-wide app for COVID contact tracing, but some states are using apps developed locally.

There are many COVID-19 Apps launched by different countries with different features, technology, and privacy policy. We can see that most of them went through scrutiny related to privacy concerns. During the pandemic, people had serious health concerns, but this can't be an excuse to evade people's privacy. Awareness in media and social organizations has forced many countries to mend their ways and address these apps' privacy issues.

Some countries have used such apps to track their people and use personal data to impose unconstitutional restrictions and surveillance. Even countries that pride themselves as democracy forgot to address the fundamental right to privacy of citizens.

**Summary**

This guest post discusses the features, technology used, and privacy concerns related to mobile applications launched by various countries for tracing COVID-19 contacts and infections.

**Author's Bio**

Joseph iliaz is associated with Global Assignment Help for over 7 years as an academic writer. He provides [assignment help](https://www.globalassignmenthelp.com/ca) services to students. He is also a white hat hacker and application development expert who has helped many organizations in security system testing, penetration testing, and vulnerability assessments. He has written many articles on ethical hacking.