Apr 12, 2021

NHS Covid-19 app update blocked for breaking Apple and Google's rules

An update to England and Wales's contact tracing app has been blocked for breaking the terms of an agreement made with Apple and Google. NHS Covid-19's users have long been able to scan a QR code when entering a shop, restaurant or other venue to log within the app the fact that they had visited. Depending on the thresholds set - for example, how many infected users registered having visited the same place on the same day - other app users would then have been told to either monitor their symptoms or immediately get a test, whether they felt ill or not. The tech firms' Exposure Notifications System FAQ states that apps involved must "Not share location data from the user's device with the public health authority, Apple, or Google". "A spokeswoman for the Department of Health told the BBC:"The deployment of the functionality of the NHS Covid-19 app to enable users to upload their venue history has been delayed.

Read the full story

 Related companies

Make a complaint about Apple by viewing their customer service contacts.