Corona for your smartphone

Tackling coronavirus with the right tools is a huge challenge! Could a coronavirus app be the solution?

A post by Tabea Fürnsinn, Hannah Krapp and Svea Spieker

Wednesday, 20 May 2020

There is hardly any area of life that has not been affected by the coronavirus crisis. As part of the fight against the current coronavirus pandemic, certain measures – such as social distancing and compulsory face coverings – have already been introduced. In order to be able to better trace the source of infection in future and thus break chains of transmission at an early stage, the introduction of smartphone apps to identify coronavirus infections is currently under discussion. This is accompanied by a debate on how these apps should work and what consequences they may have for society. This article aims to provide an insight into the latest developments regarding the coronavirus app and to address the questions society is asking itself in this context.

Is your smartphone infected by the data-sharing app?

Don’t worry! Of course, your smartphone isn’t actually infected by anything. However, in response to the coronavirus crisis, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has developed the‘Datenspende App’for Germany, which you can use if you wish. The app was launched on 7 April. Just one month later, it already had over 500,000 users. But what is the aim?

The idea is to make the spread of the virus visible and to support research through the voluntary donation of health data. The requirement is that users must wear a smartwatch or fitness tracker at all times to collect sufficient health data.

How does it work? After downloading the app, the user is assigned an ID. Use of the data donation app is not anonymous, but pseudonymous. During the initial setup, the user is asked for their postcode to capture the data locally. Additionally, personal data such as age, height, weight and gender are collected. The app must then be connected to the smartwatch or fitness tracker. The wearable device records vital signs such as heart rate, temperature and activity profile, and sends this data to the app. The collected data is transmitted via TLS/SSL encryption to the RKI’s servers. Based on this data, algorithms can detect changes and draw conclusions about symptoms of a coronavirus infection. For example, an increase in heart rate indicates a fever, which is a symptom of a coronavirus infection. However, the app does not provide a reliable diagnosis and does not replace a coronavirus test. Furthermore, it does not provide the user with any feedback. Consequently, there is no warning if the user displays any symptoms. The data merely helps the RKI to better estimate the spread of the virus, particularly the number of unreported cases.

An article on heise online discusses the data protection aspects of this app: The “Gesellschaft für Computer Science” does not consider the data donation app to meet IT security and data protection requirements. As data protection depends heavily on the wearable device used, the biggest problem is likely to be the interface. Due to data protection concerns, use of the app must be voluntary and should be limited to the duration of the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition to the existing “Datenspende App”, a second app is currently being developed to support the fight against the coronavirus.

Is the tracking app the next big thing for your smartphone?

The idea: to inform people about possible coronavirus infections and to trace the chain of infection even more effectively by collecting data and providing information in the event of a positive coronavirus test.

Once the app is installed on a smartphone, it generates a unique ID for the user. The app then continuously broadcasts this ID to its surroundings via a Bluetooth signal, whilst simultaneously searching for other IDs. When an app user comes into contact with another person who has also installed the app, both apps exchange their IDs. An algorithm calculates the duration of contact, which is an indicator of a probable coronavirus infection. If the duration of contact is long enough to suggest an infection, the apps of both users store each other’s unique IDs. This process makes it possible to trace which app users or IDs are likely to have also been infected with coronavirus if one person they have been in contact with tests positive.

With regard to the structure and operation of the app, two approaches have been discussed: the centralised and the decentralised approach. The centralised approach was the first to be proposed. It involved all contact data from an app user who tested positive for coronavirus being sent to a central server. The chain of infections would be analysed by the central authority, which would also contact those app users who had been in contact with the infected person. Following widespread scepticism regarding privacy protection, this centralised approach was rejected.

The decentralised approach is now being implemented. The main difference from the centralised approach is that, in the event of a positive coronavirus test, only the ID of the app user concerned is sent to a central server. The contact data already collected within the app is not transmitted. The central authority only receives information about the IDs of infected individuals and disseminates this information to all app users. Consequently, all app users receive the same information, regardless of whether they have actually been in contact with the infected person or not. App users must determine for themselves whether they have been in contact with the relevant ID. In doing so, they also independently assess whether they are likely to have been infected by the virus or not. This process ensures greater anonymity and data control for app users.

The good news is that SAP and Telekom have now published an initial detailed concept for the app on the software development platform GitHub. The concept stipulates that, in the event of a coronavirus test, the app should be able to provide information on the current status of the test result. According to the *Süddeutsche Zeitung* , an initial version of the app is expected to be available by mid-June.

Data protection or life-saving?

The successful use of a coronavirus app represents innovative technological progress, which may well be accompanied by a change in the way society functions. The idea of enabling the virus to be contained by collecting personal data is currently dividing society.

On the one hand, people view the tracking of health data as a positive protective measure. Many people are currently suffering from the effects of Covid-19, with loved ones falling ill, dying and their livelihoods under threat. For some, the successful use of the app offers hope that infected people can be identified more quickly, thereby slowing down or even controlling the spread of the infection. And, to be honest, how can you blame people who fear for their very existence?

On the other hand, many people are sceptical about the coronavirus app initiative. The issue of comprehensive data protection, in particular, raises questions: is data really only stored decentrally? To what extent can privacy actually be protected by collecting data? Is data protection communicated transparently enough? In countries such as South Korea, Singapore and China, coronavirus tracking apps, which store the personal data of infected people, are already in use. In Germany, this is not supposed to be the case, but considerable uncertainty remains nonetheless. Furthermore, some fear that use of the app will be made compulsory. However, in Germany, use of the app is to be voluntary. Bearing this in mind: To what extent could the app actually yield beneficial results?

An article on Deutschlandfunk Kultur discusses the consequences of coronavirus apps for society and sets out the views of the researcher Prof. Dr Jeanette Hofmann, who specialises in the political aspects of the internet and the digitalisation of society. She fears that too little thought may be given to the long-term consequences of the technologies behind coronavirus apps and that all forms of technological progress are irreversible.

In any case, it is clear that the introduction of a tracking app for people infected with coronavirus is generating controversial views within society. In the long term, the question arises as to what consequences the development of such technology might have for society and democracy, and how society and politicians choose to deal with it. What do you think a perfect coronavirus app should look like?