Contact tracing apps: How much data do you need to save the world?

Contact tracing refers to the tracking of the spread of a condition during a pandemic outbreak by keeping tabs on who has the condition and with whom they have come in contact. Historically, this required that affected individuals contact everyone with whom they interacted over a period of time, and all of those people contacting everyone with whom they had interacted, and so forth. It was a time consuming, laborious, and imperfect system. With the outbreak of COVID-19, governments and organizations around the world began investing into the development of contact tracing plans in order to track and slow the spread of the disease. In some places, these plans took the form of contact tracing apps. These apps use GPS or Bluetooth technology. When downloaded, they would keep tabs on the locations where the phone was taken, and let users know if there is a chance that someone who had come into contact with COVID-19 had been in that same space.

Despite these apps’ promises of protecting the general public from the spread of COVID-19, there are concerns about the efficacy of these apps. Researchers at Trinity College Dublin found that the effectiveness of the apps could be hindered by phones being kept in pockets, for example. Additionally, the quality of the data provided by these apps is directly proportional to the amount of the population which downloads them. If there isn’t enough public usage of the apps, they will not be helpful in tracing the spread of COVID-19. [1]

Alberta’s contact tracing app tracks what it calls ‘digital handshakes’ between phones. (Source.)

These apps have been rolled out in Australia, South Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and more, and there is also an equivalent app available in Alberta. [2] No such app has been released Canada-wide, however, one is rumoured to be in the works. It may be coming from Montreal-based AI institute Mila—one of the world’s leading AI institutes—which has developed such an app for the Canadian market. [3]

One of the major concerns with these apps is the amount of data they collect about users. Mila’s app collects information about users’ whereabouts and how long they spend at certain locations, though the company insists this data will not be given to the government or sold. [4] North Dakota’s solution, Care19, assigns users anonymous ID numbers without collecting other personal information from users. [5] Meanwhile, Alberta’s contract tracing app collects the phone numbers of users but no other personal information. Alberta’s app doesn’t collect location information of users, but rather instances in which phones with the app downloaded are in close proximity. [6]

While these apps are undoubtedly important to public health, the amount of data they collect does cause concern for privacy advocates. Former Ontario privacy commissioner Ann Cavoukian expressed concern that there are no end-dates associated with these apps. There is no plan in place for when all of the data collected will be erased. [7] In response to privacy concerns being voiced from around the world, Apple and Google announced that they are working together to develop a decentralized, non-government contact tracing application which could be used worldwide. [8] However, there is always the chance that these companies could have their records subpoenaed, and they have yet to clarify exactly how much data they will collect. While this non-government app may be a point of relief for those who don’t want their data collected by government, there is not much to suggest that data in the hands of corporations is significantly safer than data in the hands of governments. Meanwhile in Canada, it is unclear whether or not current privacy laws are robust enough to protect Canadians should there be a data breach with a contact tracing app. [9] These concerns are very valid, and not having answers to them is cause for some concern.

What do you think? Is it appropriate for these apps to collect data? Would you feel comfortable downloading one of these apps? Finally, how long should these apps store the data they collect? Let us know in the comments.