Coronavirus: What the first Isle of Wight residents think of the government’s new contact-tracing app

Andy Gregory speaks to islanders about their early experiences with the app, as potential users weigh concerns about data privacy with hopes it could be a ‘game-changer’

Human rights concerns have been raised about the software (The Independent)

Isle of Wight residents have started using the government’s new contact-tracing app, which is being piloted on the island ahead of an expected nationwide rollout.

Ministers hope the app will slow the transmission of coronavirus and it is one of dozens being created by governments across the world, with Singapore, Norway and South Korea having already adopted similar systems with varying degrees of success.

Developed by NHSX, the opt-in app will notify users if they have come into contact with other app users who are displaying Covid-19 symptoms, and will tell them to self-isolate.

However, privacy concerns have been raised by Amnesty International over the centralised way in which users’ data will be stored, and NHSX chief executive Matthew Gould has said there will probably be “unintended consequences” upon its release, admitting officials do not know “exactly how it will work”.

On Tuesday, NHS and council staff on the Isle of Wight became the first to download the app, which was then made available to all islanders on Thursday.

While most voiced enthusiasm at the prospect of the trial, there were also concerns over how private data would be used and stored, questions over how much it would actually benefit key workers, and gripes about functions within the app itself.

And although an online poll by Isle of Wight Radio this week suggested 79 per cent of residents would use it, concerns have also been raised that a large proportion of the population might struggle to download and navigate the app – which is currently only available on Apple iOS versions 11 and higher, and Android versions 8 and higher.

The staggered availability of the app, which went live across the island on Thursday – when residents were expected to receive guidance through the post on how to use it – also appears to have sown some mild confusion, with many residents finding themselves able to download it as of Tuesday, regardless of their profession.

Claudia Manser, a 31-year-old teacher, downloaded the app on Tuesday night but deleted it on Wednesday morning after becoming concerned she could be “skewing the data” as she is not a council or NHS staff member amid apparently contradictory official advice.

However, she is optimistic about the app’s potential and plans to re-download it, along with most of her family and friends.

For the roughly 12 hours it was installed, Manser noted that after she entered the first part of her postcode, the app sent two or three notifications to say it was running in the background. She noticed no discernible effect on her battery.

“It’s really unintrusive – it doesn’t ask for any personal information,” says Manser, who lives on the west of the island.

“It doesn’t require any tech savviness. I could talk my grandma through the app in terms of what you need to understand it, because you put your postcode in and then just leave it unless you get symptoms.”

“Given the amount of grandmas that are now on Zoom”, the proportion of less tech-savvy residents shouldn’t present too much of a stumbling block to the app’s potential success, she suggests.

“I think it could be a real game-changer if it works and the community generally seems to be quite lighthearted about it. I think most of my friends seem pretty keen to download it and play their part in this.”

Natalie, a 41-year-old living in Alverstone Garden Village, downloaded the app on Tuesday after being sent a link by her employer, and says she is finding it “extremely simple” to use – a sentiment echoed by several others spoken to by The Independent.

Natalie says that while she had been aware of battery drainage concerns, it doesn’t appear to have affected her iPhone’s battery power to any more of an extent than other background apps she uses.

“Upon setting up the app, you are simply asked to ensure you have your Bluetooth connected, which most people do, and enter the first part of your postcode. That is it,” she says.

“You are welcomed by a screen asking whether you have certain symptoms. I entered that I have, because I was tested on Sunday, along with my husband.

“The app immediately told me I could have coronavirus, and gave me the phone number of the test service, along with a reference number.”

The island plays the role of guinea pig to the technology which is hoped to enable at least a partial return to normal life (PA)

She adds: “Ironically, even though my husband and I have the app and it advises we have coronavirus, it hasn’t pinged either of us to say anything, which I would have expected. However, that may be due to not being confirmed as yet. We are still waiting on our results.”

Natalie also sent The Independent a screenshot of the app’s FAQs, which reveal that while all islanders who are symptomatic can apply for a swab test, “only app users will be guaranteed a swab test delivered to their home”.

While she believes it is “essential” for people “to play their part” by downloading the app, Natalie notes that she has “seen a lot of apprehension, mostly due to suspicions about what the NHS [and] government will do with the data”.

“I do not feel threatened by that as we give out our data all the time. We are tracked without realising it, for that I am sure, so what harm is this app going to do,” she says.

“I think having an app like this might have a negative impact in terms of a minority seeing it as a way to break or ease lockdown. I personally think the advice will need to be rigid.”

At Downing Street’s daily briefing on Wednesday, communities secretary Robert Jenrick reasserted the government’s desire to retain a unified approach to easing lockdown measures across the country, hours after Boris Johnson indicated some measures could be eased next week.

The island’s Labour Party candidate Richard Quigley had also insisted there must be “no question of using the Island as a testbed for an early raising of the lockdown”.

However, as many wonder what effect the new app will have on a largely locked down population, there has been some speculation that – contrary to the stated intent of the government – restrictions on the island could be eased to give developers a better idea of how the app works for a more free-moving populace.

Professor John Newton, a director at Public Health England, has said the app will only notify users if they come into “meaningful” contact with a suspected carrier, saying: “It will be somewhat imprecise.

“One of the huge benefits of being able to test it out on the Isle of Wight is that fine tuning. So we will be asking you to bear with us a bit.”

With all non-key workers under lockdown, Isle of Wight Radio’s Oliver Dowle has suggested it is “primarily for key workers, who are going out and about still”.

However it appears that some key workers will not be required to use the app at work – where the most potentially risky interactions are likely to take place.

“A large percentage of the island are key workers, many in the hospital, care homes and in prisons,” says Keith, a Cowes resident. “These are areas where you’re not allowed you’re phones, meaning that a large portion won’t be tracked when they are actually in contact with others.”

Users are also told to turn off their Bluetooth while wearing PPE, with a prompt message showing “interactions at work should not be captured when wearing personal protective equipment”.

There is also considerable talk on social media about privacy concerns – which MPs on the Joint Committee on Human Rights have insisted must be ironed out before the app is rolled out nationwide.

The UK is one of the few countries to build an app that is incompatible with a contact-tracing interface being developed by Google and Apple. The government says this will allow the NHS to have greater insight.

While critics of this decision allege it could make the app less effective, others have also taken issue with the move to store users’ data on a “centralised” NHS database – as opposed to a decentralised approach, where it is stored on users’ smartphones.

Security experts warn the centralised approach could make it more liable to hacking and privacy campaigners argue that the government could access that data for intrusive analysis in the future.

Indeed NHSX chief executive Matthew Gould appeared to signal on Monday that the data could be used in the future by other organisations. Both Google and Apple forbid apps using their software to do so.

And with most other countries using the decentralised approach favoured by Apple and Google, there also are concerns the UK app’s potential incompatibility with other systems could hinder Britons’ future travel abroad.

On Wednesday night, reports suggested the government may be preparing to U-turn on this decision, with the Financial Times reporting that the Swiss firm Zuhlke Engineering had been granted a £3.8m contract to “investigate” switching the UK’s existing app to the software proposed by Apple and Google.

While the UK’s app relies on Bluetooth to identify when users have crossed paths with a potential carrier, concerns have also been raised that this may only work when the user’s smartphone is unlocked and the app is in the foreground – an issue that some believe may be difficult to bypass without the help of Google and Apple.

However, NHSX has indicated that it has found a way around this issue.

One user who had downloaded the app wrote in a public review: “This app will send you constant push notifications because it needs to do this to retain access to your Bluetooth connection.

“If your phone is locked and you don’t view these notifications, it will not trace your interactions, which is a real shame because that is the point of the app. The constant push notifications are annoying. It needs a rethink.”

However, other reviewers disputed this, saying notifications were minimal – echoing what users have told The Independent. One responded: “That one person who gave it one star because [of] the notifications ... f*** off, it’s saving the world.”

Meanwhile, other islanders have voiced fears on social media over the reported involvement of scientists who previously worked on the Vote Leave campaign under Dominic Cummings.

Faculty AI’s chief executive Marc Warner – whose brother, Ben, is a Downing Street adviser – has denied any involvement with the project, however the Byline Times reports that a University of Oxford paper regarding possible collaboration on a new contact-tracing app featured three Faculty staff members as authors.

Despite a small minority harbouring such fears, politicians across the board appear to back the trial in principle, with any concerns voiced by Labour more seated in how effective the app will be at keeping the populace safe than worries about data privacy.

Likewise, the general reaction from islanders appears to suggest most are hopeful the app could help to provide a way out of lockdown, and believe the potential benefits outweigh security concerns.

At the time of writing, it holds a rating of 4.5 stars on Apple after 64 ratings, with the vast majority of reviewers leaving messages urging others to download it and support the trial. The Isle of Wight County Press has also launched a rare campaign to encourage readers to use the app.

On Thursday afternoon, the island’s Conservative MP Bob Seely told the BBC that 33,000 people had already downloaded the app – nearly a quarter of the population.

“It’s exciting that our little island has been chosen to test the app,” says Bethany Mercer, a 29-year-old videographer living in Cowes. “Among friends my age we’re looking forward to testing it and trialling it and hopefully helping the rest of the UK get out of lockdown as soon as possible.

“We’ve just got to hope that everyone is honest and puts the right information in the app.”