{"id":15763,"date":"2020-08-26T16:15:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-26T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/?p=15763"},"modified":"2022-02-26T23:30:43","modified_gmt":"2022-02-26T23:30:43","slug":"stopcovid-ni-mobile-app-qa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/health\/stopcovid-ni-mobile-app-qa\/","title":{"rendered":"StopCOVID NI Mobile App: Q&A"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This explainer article answers some of the questions you may have about the StopCOVID NI Mobile App<\/a> and how it works.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[This piece is part of the COVID-19 Information Dissemination (COVID-19 ID) Project<\/a> \u2014 a partnership between Community Development and Health Network (CDHN)<\/a> and FactCheckNI<\/a>. Its aim is to improve people\u2019s health literacy about COVID-19 by providing accurate and up-to-date information<\/a> which will increase knowledge, understanding and confidence and enable people to make good health decisions.]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some questions and answers with regard to StopCOVID NI Mobile App<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a contact tracing app?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A contact tracing app is a smartphone application that helps people detect if they have been in close contact with someone who has subsequently received a positive test for COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does the StopCOVID NI app work, and how does it share data?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the StopCOVID NI app is installed on your Apple or Android smartphone, it generates a random Bluetooth identifier<\/a> that changes every 10 to 20 minutes. This identifier is a string of random numbers, and is anonymous.
If you are in contact with another app user, your phones will exchange identifiers. This data will be stored on your phone, and it will not be shared with anyone else<\/a> unless you or a contact receives a positive test result for COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person using the app receives a positive test result for COVID-19, then they will be asked by a contact tracer<\/a> if they consent to uploading a list of their Bluetooth identifiers for the last 14 days to a database. No data that could be used to personally identify you<\/a>, such as your name or your phone number, will be stored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally, you will only be only considered at risk if you have been within 2 metres of another individual testing positive for COVID-19 for a period of 15 minutes or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least once every two hours<\/a>, the StopCOVID NI app on your phone will try to match your list of Bluetooth contact identifiers against the central list of identifiers associated with people who have received a positive test result in the last 14 days. If the StopCOVID NI app identifies a match indicating that you have been in close contact with someone who received a positive COVID-19 test result then it will notify you immediately and advise you about next steps<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since its launch on 31 July 2020, the StopCOVID NI app has been downloaded more than 300,000 times<\/a>. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Executive also detailed that to date, 160 people who have had a positive test for COVID have uploaded data from their apps<\/a> and then 237 others have been alerted through the app\u2019s exposure notification, advising them to self-isolate.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 26 August 2020, it was announced that the app will be extended to under-18s \u201cfrom next month.\u201d<\/a><\/strong>
What technology does the StopCOVID NI app use?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The app is built on the Exposure Notification API<\/a> framework. This decentralised framework was created jointly by Apple and Google to help public health authorities around the world curb the spread of COVID-19 using Bluetooth technology in mobile phones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has been built to ensure user privacy and to use Bluetooth technology in a power-efficient way. While recent operating system updates have added support for the framework to phones, the collection of Bluetooth contacts is only activated\u2014users are prompted to enable the service, much like an app would ask for permission to use the phone\u2019s camera or microphone\u2014if you choose to install a contact tracing app on your phone, and can be deactivated at any time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HSCNI says that the StopCOVID NI app requires \u201cthe newest versions of the iOS and Android operating systems\u201d. On Apple devices, the underlying framework is built into\u2014but not enabled until an app is installed and the user gives permission\u2014operating system iOS 13.5 and above<\/a> (first released to the public on 20 May 2020). This is supported on iPhone 6S and later devices (but not iPhone 6 or earlier handsets). The framework should be compatible with devices running Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) and later versions<\/a> of the operating system, though the StopCOVID NI app itself may require a more recent version of Android (such as 7.0 Nougat).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What data does the app share with third parties?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your randomly generated Bluetooth identifiers will be shared with other people running the app on their phones and stored for up to 14 days. However, no data is shared with the health authorities unless<\/strong> either of the following events takes place<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n