The NHS test and trace app has been using the wrong risk threshold since it was released in September, resulting in thousands not being told warned of exposure. This threshold lets the app know whether to alert someone that they’ve been potentially exposed to the virus, but sources speaking to the Sunday Times claim it … Read more
England and Wales will now become the last places in the UK to have a coronavirus contact tracing app after Scotland launched its own version today. Nicola Sturgeon urged residents north of the border to download the new tech, called Protect Scotland, to avoid more local lockdowns. The app alerts users if they have been in … Read more
Catalogue of errors led to Britain’s £12million plans for contact-tracing app being shelved, insiders say Contact tracing app costing £12million ditched days ago after error ‘catalogue’ Testing showed it detected four per cent of iPhones it was in close contact with Decision to avoid ‘off-the-shelf’ platform means app had to be built from scratch By Stephen … Read more
The NHS coronavirus contact tracing app won’t work properly until October, it has emerged today. Officials first promised the app would be ready to roll-out across Britain in mid-May, after it was trialled on the Isle of Wight. But business minister Nadhim Zahawi last night revealed it won’t go live until the end of the … Read more
Apple and Google have today announced the launch of their coronavirus contact-tracing app software. Their API – a software blueprint for individual apps built by each country’s health authority – will be available in 22 countries around the world. Apple and Google did not reveal which countries are set to use the API but it … Read more
HOW IS THE NHS APP DIFFERENT TO ONE MADE BY APPLE AND GOOGLE? The app technologies developed by Google/Apple and the NHS are based on the same principle – they keep a log of who someone has come into close contact with – but the way they store data is the main difference. The NHS’s … Read more
Test, track, and trace has become a key message in the fight against coronavirus and on Monday we learned more about the third element to this crucial approach. Contact tracing is seen as one of several possible remedies to help the UK out of lockdown and an app trial is now ready to go, ahead … Read more
Businesses could track the spread of coronavirus when they re-open through using contact-tracing apps currently in development. At least three companies are creating surveillance apps for private firms, which may allow employers to retrace the steps of an infected worker. Employers would be able to track how many people the infected staff member interacted with … Read more
Up to two billion smartphone users around the world won’t be able to use the coronavirus contact tracing app currently being developed by Apple and Google. Hundreds of millions of older smartphones still in active use don’t have the required software and Bluetooth to run the new app, which could be released next month. The … Read more
An NHS contact-tracing app would only completely stop the spread of coronavirus if 80 per cent of current smartphone owners use it, researchers have warned. The team from the University of Oxford simulated how COVID-19 might spread in order to support the development of contact-tracing apps across Europe. However, a previous survey of potential contact-tracing … Read more