The HSE Covid tracker app is heading towards one million downloads

Yesterday the HSE’s COVID-19 tracker app went live and this evening there were over 965,000 downloads. Nearform who are based in Waterford designed the app using  Apple and Google contact-tracing API’s, ensuring that iOS and Android phone can communicate with each other.

It will only work on phones that run Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) or higher and iOS 13.5 or higher, so older smartphones such as the iPhone 6 or older won’t be able to use it. This means a lot of older people won’t be able to download it.

Simon Donnelly the Minister for Health is encouraging a huge uptake on downloads.

How secure is the HSE app?

So how secure is the app and from a data protection perspective should we be worried about downloading in on to our smartphones? Conor Hogan, Global Privacy Practice Lead at BSI told Irish Tech News:

“In terms of uptake, the effectiveness of the COVID tracker app will depend on users having their Bluetooth turned on and how many download it.

From a data protection perspective, the transparency efforts by the HSE to publish source code, completing and publishing a data protection impact assessment (DPIA), and their engagement with the Data Protection Commission throughout the development process is encouraging. These measures set the bar for future data-protection-by-design approaches for the sector.

For users, the app uses transparency and anonymisation techniques and is entirely voluntary in nature. Data minimisation has also been considered. Your mobile number isn’t required to use it and users are required to give their consent to access it.

Areas that may need further consideration are the separation of the multiple function of the app, including symptom tracking, contact tracing and location tracking, which potentially extend the necessity and proportionality of the app.

Meanwhile, in the absence of intrinsic evidence on the efficacy of Bluetooth as an effective contact-tracing technology, we’ll need to wait and see whether the app will be a success or not.”

The app is looking to be a gamechanger in the fight against COVID-19 and is heading close to one million downloads. It is also the fastest downloaded app in Ireland.

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