The NHS Covid-19 app has finally been given an update to address the glitch causing phantom notifications which led to widespread alarm among users.
England and Wales’s contact-tracing app is based on the software blueprint laid out for free by Apple and Google.
Many people have reported receiving bizarre alerts which were said to be ‘default messages’ from Apple and Google.
They can say ‘Possible COVID-19 exposure’, ‘COVID-19 EXPOSURE LOGGING’ or ‘COVID-19 Exposure Notifications’.
However, despite being highly disconcerting, these are not warnings that the user has been in close contact with someone diagnosed with Covid-19.
The Department of Health blamed Apple and Google for the glitch, and the tech giants neglected to explain why the notifications were appearing and what their purpose was.
Now, in a secretive update to the app rolled out today, the Department of Health has eventually tackled the issue – albeit in a rather inelegant way.
The notifications in their current guise will still appear, but people who receive one will then also get a follow-up alert telling them to ignore it.
It will read: ‘COVID-19 Exposure Check Complete. Don’t worry, we have assessed your risk and there is no need to take action at this time. Please continue to stay alert and follow the latest advice on social distancing.’
It remains unknown if users will have to manually update their app via either the Google Play Store of Apple’s App Store, or if it will upgrade automatically.
The notifications in their current guise will still occur, but people who receive one will then also get a follow-up alert telling them to ignore them. Pictured, an example of the follow up notification people will receive
Many users were getting alerts which were ‘default messages’ from Apple and Google, saying ‘Possible COVID-19 exposure’, ‘COVID-19 EXPOSURE LOGGING’ or ‘COVID-19 Exposure Notifications’. Pictured, an example of the phantom notification which was sent out last week
The NHS Covid-19 app has finally been given an update to address the glitch causing phantom notifications which caused widespread alarm among users. Pictured, an example of one of the confusing alerts on Android
Last week, MailOnline reported that Apple, Google and the Department of Health all refused to explain why the issue was occurring, what was causing it and and if anything was being done to fix it.
Both Apple and Google both declined to comment.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health said: ‘NHS COVID-19 app users only need to self-isolate if they get a notification directly from the app advising them to do so.’
The only other official guidance came from an obscure FAQ sheet on the NHS website, which also explains that the notifications cannot be turned off.
When asked for a new comment today regarding the update, the Department of Health gave the exact same statement.
While being bereft of detail and offering little in the way of explanation, this means users should only self-isolate if the app itself has sent out an alert, not a default message from Apple and Google which bypasses the app.
This subtle distinction was not explained to users and is tricky to spot for the untrained eye.
The best way to tell them apart is either by clicking on the notification and seeing what happens, or by the wording of the notification.
According to DHSC, a true notification will read: ‘The app has detected that you have been in contact with someone who has coronavirus. Please stay at home and self-isolate to keep yourself and others safe.’
Messages from the NHS COVID-19 app will also not ‘disappear’ when you click them, and you will be able to see the advice for you within the app when you open it.
The ‘Protect Scotland’ app is also susceptible to the ghost notifications, according to a ‘How It Works ‘ sheet, but only for Apple devices. It looks like this image, according to the official website
The Apple-Google API is also used by Covid apps in dozens of countries around the world, including those of Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The ‘Protect Scotland’ app is also susceptible to the ghost notifications, according to a ‘How It Works’ sheet, but only for Apple devices.
‘App users with Apple devices may receive weekly notifications referring to COVID-19 Exposure Logging,’ it reads.
‘These messages are autogenerated by Apple iOS and do not form any part of operation of the Protect Scotland app.
‘They are not a close contact alert and do not require you to self-isolate.’
Northern Ireland’s Department of Health told MailOnline that the phantom notifications were an issue that plagued the country’s app, called StopCOVID NI.
However, this is no longer an ‘active problem’ as the app has been updated to run on the most recent API, a spokesperson said last week.
Currently, more than 1.4million people have downloaded the Scottish app and almost half a million have the Northern Irish app, called StopCOVID NI.
Jake Moore, cybersecurity specialist at ESET, told MailOnline unreliable notifications could lead the app down the same street as the fable of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.
Officials abandoned the NHS’s attempt at making its own app in June when they realised it didn’t work on iPhones
The NHS Test and Trace app will tell people their local area risk level (left) and will warn people if they have been in contact with someone who tests positive or if they report symptoms themselves (right)
‘If the device receives too many false positives, the owner will soon disbelieve any future genuine notification, resulting in a disruption of the real use of the app,’ he said.
‘Causing unnecessary self-isolation could potentially increase the cost to the government, too.
‘It is possible that the notifications within the app are test alerts to check response times, or other factors surrounding the devices, but without comment from the app developers, it may be difficult to know the full reason behind it.’
Javvad Malik, security awareness advocate at KnowBe4, a cybersecurity firm, adds: ‘It’s important for tech developers to take into consideration the user experience.
‘This is especially true for notifications. We see that when apps or software provide too many notifications, or the notifications all look the same, then users will very likely ignore them.
‘Similarly, notifications shouldn’t unnecessarily alarm people, especially when it comes to sensitive issues like exposure to COVID-19.’
The app has been besieged with issues since its conception at the very start of lockdown.
Matt Hancock initially hailed it as the single biggest tool in the fight against Covid-19, and the NHS began building its own version.
Originally, the NHS app was scheduled for release in May but was scrapped due to various flaws, such as draining batteries and spotting only four per cent of iPhones.
After a disastrous trial on the Isle of Wight, the NHSX app was abandoned in June at a cost of £12million.
Apple and Google has recently announced a separate system for regions that do not have the resources to develop a full blown app.
This system, called Exposure Notifications Express, will not require health authorities to build their own app, and it is hoped this simplified version will encourage uptake of track-and-trace protocols.
Public Health Authorities will have to authorise the system before it goes live in a specific region, and the tech giants say it is designed to work in conjunction with, not replace, existing track-and-trace apps.