Covid App Update Blocked for Breaking Rules on Data Privacy

The Covid app update is blocked by Apple and Google for breaking the terms of an agreement made with them. This app is crucial to the NHS for tracking and tracing cases of the virus in England and Wales.

The release of the new update was timed to coincide with the easing of lockdown restrictions. The plan was for users to upload details of venue check-ins logged by scanning a barcode. The idea is for this information to be used to warn others, if people have tested positive for the virus.

However, the two tech giants had always explicitly banned a function like this.

Health authorities switched to using Apple and Google’s contact tracing API (application programming interface) in June 2020. They did this after their original efforts were found to miss too many potential cases. All health authorities signed up to use this technology, did so under specific terms surrounding privacy. It was agreed they would not to collect any location data via the software.

Last week, Apple and Google both refused to make the update available for download from their app stores, as a result of the breach in agreement. They are keeping the old version live instead.

The Department of Health have declined to comment on how a situation such as this has happened.

Identifying virus hotspots

Users of the NHS Covid-19 application scan a QR code when entering a shop, restaurant or other venue, thus logging their visit on the app. This is something that has been available for some time now.

However, this data has not been accessible to anyone else before. The only time this information is used is if local authorities identify a location as being a virus hotspot, and it is flagged to a central database.

As phones make regular checks for a match on the database, it can alert the owner if they need to take action. This can be done without sharing the information with others.

Unfortunately though, this facility has been underused. Part of the reason for this is because many local authorities were confused about what they had to do.

The intention was to automate the process before outdoor hospitality venues and shops reopened in England and Wales. This would work by asking users who tested positive if they would upload their logs. Depending on the thresholds set, other users of the app would then be alerted to either monitor symptoms or get a test immediately.

The Department of Health viewed this a “privacy-protecting” approach as it is opt-in. However, even though the user has an option, it is still a clear breach of the terms agreed to.

Why was the Covid app update blocked?

It is stated that apps involved must “not share location data from the user’s device with the public health authority, Apple, or Google”. In addition, a separate document covering the terms and conditions in more detail states “a contact tracing app may not use location-based APIs… and may not collect any device information to identify the precise location of users”.

Apple and Google cannot afford to make an exception for England and Wales, as it could set a precedent for other countries to sought their own changes.

The people behind the app were told not to say why the update was not released when planned. A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said the function to enable users to upload their venue history was delayed. But she insisted this did not affect the functionality of the app as a whole. And claimed they continue to discuss with their partners the provision of updates to the app to protect the public.

For some reason, the Department of Health seemed to think this app update would go through without any issue. This is despite the rules for using the Apple-Google Exposure Notification System being very clear on the fact that the collection of any location data was a definite no.

The team developing the app knew the score, but maybe assumed that, because location sharing was optional to users, the tech giants might be more flexible about it. But Apple and Google insist rules are rules, and must be followed by all.

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