Will you be downloading the Government track & trace app?
- Thread starter MyQul
- Start date
Help Support The Homebrew Forum:
While everyone is entitled to their views I am a little disappointed that without even knowing what the app can do people have already decided they have no intention of using it when it could save lives.
James Sharpe
Brewer James
I find it incredible that people are saying that they wouldn't install an app that doesn't keep any identifiable data and doesn't send any information to "big corp" or government. All you put in is the first part of your postcode and then say if you're feeling well... you don't even need to tell it your address to get a test kit if you don't want, you can go and collect one. If this all means that we get out of lock-down and down the pub / restaurant / cinema / holiday / beach / gym sooner then that's a good thing. The selfish people that can but don't install it should be kept in lock-down longer, for their own, my and the NHS's safety. Show the app to get into the bar to show you're not supposed to be isolating.
On the other side of the coin, i have stayed in now for the full duration of this lockdown and so has my wife our two kids well not kids anymore do the shopping on their way home from work, the reason for this app is all the dickheads who wont comform and just dont care but for these people we would be well on top of this by now, so no i wont download it we have done our bit and i dont trust the companys who will be running it
![BREWING THERMOMETER STICKERS ACCURATELY MONITOR FERMENTING BEER & WINE LIQUID TEMPERATURES 5PCS HOME BREW SPIRITS WINE LCD ADHESIVE [US]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/311DDjo2X3L._SL500_.jpg)
Graz
Landlord.
If by using it then it enables restrictions to be eased further and ultimately gets us out of this situation then I'm all for it. But I can understand why folk would be wary about it.
Anyway if you're carrying around a smartphone then potentially someone could know where you are or what you're up to even if you don't think they should be able to but if you're not doing anything dodgy then it's going to be pretty boring for whoever is spying on you
Anyway if you're carrying around a smartphone then potentially someone could know where you are or what you're up to even if you don't think they should be able to but if you're not doing anything dodgy then it's going to be pretty boring for whoever is spying on you
Graz
Landlord.
Modern cars almost certainly would have more lines of code than the original 747s but much like anything else they've evolved a lot over the years and some of the last of the production run of 747s would have had a lot more electronic systems fitted than the older ones. If they've got one of our satcom systems on board there's a lot of code in them!
Vulnerabilities have been demonstrated on cars but unless you have one that is "connected" i.e. more prestige type motors then it's hard to exploit those vulnerabilities and if it is connected then the manufacturer would be fairly prompt to roll out an update once the issue is determined.
So, they are testing an app which tracks whether or not you have come into contact with someone testing positive with COVID-19 on the Isle of Wight where 80% of the buildings are either B&Bs or holiday homes at a time when no-one is allowed out. There’s probably going to be no data recorded to be able to test!
MmmBeer
Brewer
I don't have a smart phone, as I could never get on with touch screens. As for not trusting certain companies with your personal data, there are many others that I would be far more wary about, Amazon and Apple to name just two.
MyQul
Chairman of the Bored
I've also heard a large proportion of IoW residents are elderly so perhaps wont have smart phones. Maybe the IoW wasnt the best place to do a trial?
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2017
- Messages
- 2,814
- Reaction score
- 1,040
Exactly that. I want to know what the app does, so show me the source code and I'll decide.
What extra intel you dont even know what the app collects yet.
I think we got that from previous posts.
Quote from BBC News website....
Why was the Isle of Wight chosen for the trial?
Health Secretary Matt Hancock says the elderly population on the island - and estimated lower number of smartphone users - was a factor. If it is successful despite these challenges then that will show it can work across the UK.
John Newton, the UK government's testing co-ordinator, says that relatively restricted travel to the island makes it an "ideal place" to study the spread of a virus.
Other than that where do you think would have been better?
There wouldn't be much point in making an an app that checks to see if you have been in close contact with someone who test positive if we were all staying home under lockdown as you would already know, i imagine the timing of the apps trial and discussion of the upcoming relaxing of the lockdown is no coincidence.
MyQul
Chairman of the Bored
No idea tbh. But thanks for the quote as it explains why they picked IoW. I just would of thought having a lower number of smart phone users would mean you wouldn't get a result that can transferred directly to places in the UK that have high smart phone usage. Although it seems counter intuitive (to me at least) that's clearly not the case.
Last edited:
What data does the NHS app collect?
The government and NHS have been keen to stress that the app doesn’t collect user data that could identify an individual. Location data is not collected as GPS technology is not used and the app does not ask for a user’s name or other personal information. This extra information will be required if a person reports they have symptoms as they will need to be tested for coronavirus.
There are a few pieces of information the app does collect. When you first download and use the app you will be asked to enter the first half of your postcode. Officials say this is to allow the NHS to track the spread of coronavirus.
The app will also record what phone you are using and information around Bluetooth usage. This includes the unique IDs of the devices you phone has interacted with. It also includes both how long devices were communicating and how strong the signal between the devices was. A stronger signal should, in theory, mean you were closer to an infected person. Health officials hope that these pieces of data can be combined into coronavirus modelling to help understand more about how the virus spreads.
While the app has been created to collect as little user information as possible, this doesn't mean there could be challenges faced. "There are some downsides to our approach though," Ian Levy, the technical director of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), an arm of GCHQ, has said in a blog post. "For example, the system ends up with a list of devices that have been near each other, even though they're anonymous."
The system knows that device 123456 and device ABCDEF, for instance, were near each other on a set of dates when one of the device owners reports their symptoms. "In theory, that's a privacy risk, but it's only stored on the NHS app system and there's no way to link device 123456 to 'Ian Levy' or a particular place," Levy says. "If you discover that my app ID is123456, there are some theoretical things you can do to try to understand my contacts if you've followed me round. But if you've followed me round, you've probably seen my contacts anyway." He adds the attack type couldn't be done remotely.
Levy says the front end of the system will see a person's IP address but the NHSX system does not. "The cyber security monitoring of the system keeps logs which include IP address, but they're strictly access controlled and are only accessible to the cyber security team looking after the app system."
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/nhs-covid-19-tracking-app-contact-tracing
The government and NHS have been keen to stress that the app doesn’t collect user data that could identify an individual. Location data is not collected as GPS technology is not used and the app does not ask for a user’s name or other personal information. This extra information will be required if a person reports they have symptoms as they will need to be tested for coronavirus.
There are a few pieces of information the app does collect. When you first download and use the app you will be asked to enter the first half of your postcode. Officials say this is to allow the NHS to track the spread of coronavirus.
The app will also record what phone you are using and information around Bluetooth usage. This includes the unique IDs of the devices you phone has interacted with. It also includes both how long devices were communicating and how strong the signal between the devices was. A stronger signal should, in theory, mean you were closer to an infected person. Health officials hope that these pieces of data can be combined into coronavirus modelling to help understand more about how the virus spreads.
While the app has been created to collect as little user information as possible, this doesn't mean there could be challenges faced. "There are some downsides to our approach though," Ian Levy, the technical director of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), an arm of GCHQ, has said in a blog post. "For example, the system ends up with a list of devices that have been near each other, even though they're anonymous."
The system knows that device 123456 and device ABCDEF, for instance, were near each other on a set of dates when one of the device owners reports their symptoms. "In theory, that's a privacy risk, but it's only stored on the NHS app system and there's no way to link device 123456 to 'Ian Levy' or a particular place," Levy says. "If you discover that my app ID is123456, there are some theoretical things you can do to try to understand my contacts if you've followed me round. But if you've followed me round, you've probably seen my contacts anyway." He adds the attack type couldn't be done remotely.
Levy says the front end of the system will see a person's IP address but the NHSX system does not. "The cyber security monitoring of the system keeps logs which include IP address, but they're strictly access controlled and are only accessible to the cyber security team looking after the app system."
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/nhs-covid-19-tracking-app-contact-tracing
Brewnaldo
Landlord.
- Joined
- Nov 21, 2019
- Messages
- 1,700
- Reaction score
- 1,798
Everyone should use the app. The app is important.
However, having read the below, on top of the fact that Dominic Cummings has chiselled the contract for his pal.... Nope. Sorry. No app for me until theres a much clearer addressing of concerns.
https://www.businessinsider.nl/cybe...g-surveillance-2020-4?international=true&r=US
https://www.theregister.co.uk/AMP/2020/05/05/uk_coronavirus_app/?__twitter_impression=true
As usual, the UK knows better than everyone else..... Sigh.
However, having read the below, on top of the fact that Dominic Cummings has chiselled the contract for his pal.... Nope. Sorry. No app for me until theres a much clearer addressing of concerns.
https://www.businessinsider.nl/cybe...g-surveillance-2020-4?international=true&r=US
https://www.theregister.co.uk/AMP/2020/05/05/uk_coronavirus_app/?__twitter_impression=true
As usual, the UK knows better than everyone else..... Sigh.
The register "almost alone" & "probably won't work" 
it only asks for your location if you need to be tested do these people do any research before writing this *****?
UK finds itself almost alone with centralized virus contact-tracing app that probably won't work well, asks for your location, may be illegal
it only asks for your location if you need to be tested do these people do any research before writing this *****?
UK finds itself almost alone with centralized virus contact-tracing app that probably won't work well, asks for your location, may be illegal
Similar threads
