Are you Going to use the COVIDsafe App?

[serfty]

I did research this a fair bit and I decided I was happy to:

Privacy Policy

The COVIDSafe app speeds up contacting people exposed to coronavirus (COVID-19). This helps us support and protect you, your friends and family. Please read the content on this page before downloading.

www.health.gov.au

 

[tomlee1986]

I did not download and I dont regret it as I see not much use in the app unless it is mandatory, and even if it is, not many information could be gained if the person is asymptomatic

 

[Pushka]

Currently there is only one state where the app is relevant anyway.

 

[james4321]

Currently there is only one state where the app is relevant anyway.

Yes and as long as we keep the borders shut then that‘s the way it will remain

 

[jakeseven7]

Yes and as long as we keep the borders shut then that‘s the way it will remain

Yeah totally they should stop wasting their money advertising in WA, QLD etc because we’ve done such an amazing job it’s unbelievable!

 

[dajop]

So, now over 6 million downloads and not one case detected. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

I wonder if there’s a behavioural correlation that makes the app useless ? i.e. those who are civic minded enough to have downloaded the app may also be civic minded enough to practice social distancing etc.

 

[drron]

So on the Project tonight only 26% of mobile phones have the app installed.None of the people testing positive who attended the Melbourne protests had the app installed.
Hardly the apps fault but exactly what I was thinking in the beginning.If it was going to be a help the Taiwan or South korea models were the way to go.sadly would not be accepted here.

 

[SuePa]

Whether it's a help or not at the moment , it's not causing me any trouble having it on my phone, so I'm happy to leave there. You never know when it might come in handy.

 

[tomlee1986]

I hope this app will become useful in some point in time, but I hope for the benefit of the nation it is not required as the virus is gone, but sadly it isnt

 

[serfty]

Came across a report today the App informed a user they it had not detected another using the app in the previous day. It's second hand info, but still I know not what to make of that.

 

[Pushka]

The virus will return and the SA Police Commissioner is preparing everyone for a return as he discussed even wonderful things like - international travel! So the app is likely to be more useful as we try to return. Elimination is a ridiculous concept for us to try to achieve - we just need the information to know when to act if needed. And keep practising social distancing wherever possible.

 

[SydneySwan]

Putting aside whether the current COVID app works or not, if international tourists start arriving prior to COVID-19 eradication they will most likely not have the Australian app installed on their phone but may have their own national app. They may not want to or may not be able to download the Australian app or even have a data plan that gives them connectivity here. But it got me thinking if any attempt will be made to make different national apps compatible with each other.

The biggest failure of these apps is that they don't record another user unless they have the same app installed. It may be too Big Brotherish to record other people without some implicit permission (i.e. by downloading an app) but there again we are all recorded by CCTV every day without giving each camera permission.

 

[VPS]

When I was in the Barossa a couple of weeks ago, a couple of the places asked me to fill out my contact details. Same with my local library

 

[Pushka]

When I was in the Barossa a couple of weeks ago, a couple of the places asked me to fill out my contact details. Same with my local library

We had the same in Woodside wineries in early June, seems like a lifetime ago, plus to tick off we had the app installed. We were the only ones who'd ticked It.

 

[Daver6]

I originally installed the app on my Samsung S10 as soon as it became available. However, over the weekend I uninstalled it. Let me explain why.

I noticed in the last few weeks the battery life on my phone had really gone downhill. I couldn't understand why. There was nothing obvious that changed in battery usage according to the stats. I've always worked from home and MrsDaver6 continued to go into her office for work. I started to notice an interesting pattern. My phone seemed to drain more in the evenings when MrsDaver6 was home. Also now that we could go out, I noticed it drained much quicker when out in public.

It dawned on my. My phone was draining the battery much faster when other phones (presumably with the app installed) were around. As an experiment I uninstalled the Covid app and what do you know, battery life is now much better again.

The difference for me was quite significant. From easily getting a day to a day and a half out of a charge to needing to recharge part way through the day. So on that note, the app will remain off my phone, which is unfortunate and I do feel bad about it. However, until this issue can be resolved that's the way it will be for me.

 

[nutwood]

I originally installed the app on my Samsung S10 as soon as it became available. However, over the weekend I uninstalled it. Let me explain why.

I noticed in the last few weeks the battery life on my phone had really gone downhill. I couldn't understand why. There was nothing obvious that changed in battery usage according to the stats. I've always worked from home and MrsDaver6 continued to go into her office for work. I started to notice an interesting pattern. My phone seemed to drain more in the evenings when MrsDaver6 was home. Also now that we could go out, I noticed it drained much quicker when out in public.

It dawned on my. My phone was draining the battery much faster when other phones (presumably with the app installed) were around. As an experiment I uninstalled the Covid app and what do you know, battery life is now much better again.

The difference for me was quite significant. From easily getting a day to a day and a half out of a charge to needing to recharge part way through the day. So on that note, the app will remain off my phone, which is unfortunate and I do feel bad about it. However, until this issue can be resolved that's the way it will be for me.

If using the app is important to you, you could leave it installed and either disable it, or turn Bluetooth off, when it is not required.
A lot of low powered wireless stuff adjusts effort in proportion to the job to be done. If you had other phones within range, but only just within range, it would be striving to communicate and the nature of the app is that it would continually be going through the handshake routine.
I use the Bluetooth on my phone as a remote read-out on test instruments and I have noted increased battery drain when it's struggling to maintain contact due to obstacles or excessive distance.

 

[Daver6]

If using the app is important to you, you could leave it installed and either disable it, or turn Bluetooth off, when it is not required.
A lot of low powered wireless stuff adjusts effort in proportion to the job to be done. If you had other phones within range, but only just within range, it would be striving to communicate and the nature of the app is that it would continually be going through the handshake routine.
I use the Bluetooth on my phone as a remote read-out on test instruments and I have noted increased battery drain when it's struggling to maintain contact due to obstacles or excessive distance.

Turning Bluetooth off is not an option. I use it all the time of other connections. Here's the real issue though. When it's useful/needed to be on is exactly when you don't want the battery draining quickly.

 

[jb747]

The only real solution is for this app to be a basic part of the Android and IOS operating systems, with no national app riding on top.

 

[Gremlin]

Came across a report today the App informed a user they it had not detected another using the app in the previous day. It's second hand info, but still I know not what to make of that.

I have the app and had a message like that yesterday, stating it had found no connections in the past 48 hours and I should check whether it was working. Problem is, in the prior 48 hours I had actually been in contact with several others as I had attended a (small scale) event. Many whom I'm aware have the app (eg the rest of my family).

My handset is 3 years old and is in the set of phones that had the "initial known issue with Bluetooth". At least every couple of days I get a message that the app is not active despite keeping it open 24/7. Yesterday I got the above message. I have very little confidence in the ability of the app to work as advertised.

 

[moa999]

for this app to be a basic part of the Android and IOS operating systems, with no national app riding on top.

Apple/Google still need an app on top - they just require it have different privacy settings - notably no centralised reporting system or registration which CovidSafe has, and slightly different ID generating.
Basically the user under the Apple/Google model just gets an anonymous alert which they could ignore, and it provides no notification to authorities nor the ability to connect clusters.
It would work better on Apple devices though.

For now however
"Australian Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth tells @theprojecttv that “There's no way we're shifting to a platform that will take out the contact tracers”, referring to Apple and Google’s coronavirus exposure alert notification system"

They are reportedly looking at it, and I guess if Victoria keeps blowing up then manual contract tracing becomes too labour intensive and you possibly have to switch to the Apple/Google solution.

I also don't think switching methods would increase app adoption much higher (and indeed it would stop working on some older iOS devices)

 

[VPS]

I originally installed the app on my Samsung S10 as soon as it became available. However, over the weekend I uninstalled it. Let me explain why.

I noticed in the last few weeks the battery life on my phone had really gone downhill. I couldn't understand why. There was nothing obvious that changed in battery usage according to the stats. I've always worked from home and MrsDaver6 continued to go into her office for work. I started to notice an interesting pattern. My phone seemed to drain more in the evenings when MrsDaver6 was home. Also now that we could go out, I noticed it drained much quicker when out in public.

It dawned on my. My phone was draining the battery much faster when other phones (presumably with the app installed) were around. As an experiment I uninstalled the Covid app and what do you know, battery life is now much better again.

The difference for me was quite significant. From easily getting a day to a day and a half out of a charge to needing to recharge part way through the day. So on that note, the app will remain off my phone, which is unfortunate and I do feel bad about it. However, until this issue can be resolved that's the way it will be for me.

Interesting the other night my iPhone had about 40% battery when I went to bed and I didn't bother to put it on charge but when I woke up it was completely flat. I leave the Covid app on all the time. Never happened before and there were no other phones around