Just over a fifth of people have the NHS Covid app and are using it properly, poll finds

Forty per cent of respondents say they never had the app in the first place

The figures show most people either never had the app, have deleted it, or are abusing it (PA Wire)

Just over one-fifth of people have downloaded the NHS Covid app and are using it correctly, according to a new poll by YouGov.

The survey suggests most people are either abusing the app in some way, have deleted it, or never downloaded it in the first place.

The findings come amid reports that Britain is experiencing a “pingdemic”, with rising numbers of people being told to self-isolate through the app.

The new YouGov poll found that only nine per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds have the app on their phones and are using it properly.

This is compared to 19 per cent of 25- to 49-year-olds, 22 per cent of 50- to 64-year-olds, and 29 per cent of over-60s.

Meanwhile, just over a third of people said they had either deleted the app or were not using it properly, which can include switching bluetooth off or avoiding checking into venues.

For those aged 18 to 24, over half of those polled said they had either deleted the app or were abusing it in some way.

Across all age groups, 10 per cent said they had deleted the app after downloading it, while 40 per cent said they had never had it in the first place.

The poll also found that one-fifth of those with the app installed on their phones had their bluetooth turned off at the time of the survey, in mid-July.

The government confirmed on Monday that there would be no changes to the app’s sensitivity, despite industry warnings about the number of staff off work having been told to self-isolate.

Recent figures show that in a single week in early July, more than 520,000 alerts were sent to users to say they were close contacts of a positive Covid case and had to self-isolate.