NZ COVID Tracer app for Android and iOS

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#2762690 18-Aug-2021 18:38

DS248:

To give one example where there may be issues even with scanned QR codes:

Our local Paper Plus is also the local Post Shop. But the PO Box lobby is in a separate area, around the back of the (relatively large) building. Typically people going into the lobby will go nowhere near the entrance to the Paper Plus shop / Post Shop.

Scanning the QR code on the lobby door brings up what appears to be the identical place location as the one on the entrance to the main shop - just 'Paper Plus XXXXXXXX' where XXXXXXXX is the suburb. To be fair, I have not checked to see it the GLN's are the same (rarely go into the shop, so cannot check at this point). However, the street address given for the box lobby is that of the shop so I suspect exactly the same QR code is being used in both cases.

But I would imagine there would be a world of difference between going into the box lobby for probably less than a minute to pick up mail vs going into the shop

Still potential risks though. Occasionally someone else in the lobby at the same time, and of course touching the door handles and keypad to get in.

It may be that NZ Post haven't bothered to provide a QR code for the Box Lobby and the shop has just used one of theirs. I say this because they didn't provide one for my local Box Lobby until I complained that they were failing their legal responsibility to do so. The Box Lobby is at the back of our KiwiBank branch and has a separate street entrance to the bank. When I scan the QR code, it says "XXXXXX Box Lobby" in my diary

I'd ring up NZ Post and complain until they fix it

Technofreak

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#2762716 18-Aug-2021 19:22

Oblivian:

panther2: Cam you have the covid app logged into 2 devices? Say work and personal phone?

There is no synchronicity or forced acct login requirement anymore. So I don't see why not. But they will be independent of each other and not share diary scans

As for the diary history storage - buried. And not in the standard android or cloud storage locations. So when you remove app, it's zapped. Official word - take screenshots (believe it or not)

Think some IOS models are able to save to the apple acct.

Yep, I looked in all sorts of directories and couldn't find anything. Came to the conclusion that screen shots were going to be the only way. Shame there's not a way to export/import the diary. How are you supposed to get on with a new phone?

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richms

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#2762737 18-Aug-2021 20:35

I dont always carry the same phone with me, so really the app is pretty limited for usefulness. Havent even bothered to put it on the junk phone that I use when loss of the phone is a possibility, and thats the one that I take when going to more places than the good phone.

Richard rich.ms

jonherries

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#2762781 19-Aug-2021 06:39

We have asked about backups, and it is generally against the terms and conditions. There are a lot of restrictions that we are currently subject to, and a lot of scrutiny on what the app does and how it works they are very concerned about the potential for government surveillance.

The app store people were surprised it was a problem, they were going to have a look at whether we can get an exemption.

Jon

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#2762939 19-Aug-2021 11:26

Sweet Cheesus, people find any excuse to not load a simple app that coud save lives.

davef

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#2763170 19-Aug-2021 16:58

Scanning onto busses in Auckland

When bus journeys are listed in the LOI tables they currently show only the route eg Bus 25B City Centre to Blockhouse Bay. However when bus journeys are scanned in the New Zealand covid tracer app, only the bus number is recorded. This means it is difficult to compare one's scanning diary with the LOI listed trips. Presumably it is possible for AT to correlate the specific bus trips with bus numbers from their despatch schedules and return the information in a table. If the bus number could then be added to the LOI table in the address column this would make it easier to check from one's tracer diary whether one has been exposed and needs to react. Or a tracer could refer to the subject's own diary (if they scanned) to get the bus number for inclusion in the LOI.

Oblivian

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#2763228 19-Aug-2021 19:04

@andrewchen the TV star :)

Just talking on SevenSharp about the app

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allan

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#2763744 20-Aug-2021 13:24

Currently queuing to get into Countdown & security guard is walking up & down telling people, once they have scanned, not to push okay until they leave as it will record the length of time they are there. That's a load of rubbish right?

alasta

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#2763746 20-Aug-2021 13:27

allan: Currently queuing to get into Countdown & security guard is walking up & down telling people, once they have scanned, not to push okay until they leave as it will record the length of time they are there. That's a load of rubbish right?

Yes, it's some fake news that TVNZ published earlier this year and a lot of people believed it at the time. I think it's why the label on the button got changed from 'finished' to 'okay'.

Oblivian

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#2763838 20-Aug-2021 14:11

Take back your device with this on the screen..

Andrew has been seen here, and was on TV last night

allan

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#2763861 20-Aug-2021 14:59

Oblivian:

Take back your device with this on the screen..

Andrew has been seen here, and was on TV last night

Would have if I'd read the reply while still there... 😀

jerryb

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#2764407 21-Aug-2021 16:29

DS248:
One weakness in the whole system is that the design is based on recording entry to 'public' places whereas for many people, most contact with other people will be at private addresses, etc.

Similarly open spaces like parks, kids playgrounds etc. One place I do go (less regularly than I should!) is around Orewa Estuary for a run. In the age of Delta perhaps locations like these need QR codes though not certain how it would work with almost unlimited entry point (not going to stop and scan partway through a timed run).

Better still (& at the risk of a hostile reception), why not just make the system more secure and turn on location tracking in the app? All data simplified to the min required and properly secured.

Isn't that what the Bluetooth mode is for? (Genuine question)
- You're in a park and you walk past someone coming the opposite direction.
- You both have the app, with the Bluetooth feature switched on.
- The phones do their little handshake and each of them records the other's ID.
- The other person tests positive a few days later. - Their Bluetooth log (in the app) shows that the two phones were in each other's vicinity.

Isn't that how it works?

andrewchen

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#2764427 21-Aug-2021 16:43

alasta:

allan: Currently queuing to get into Countdown & security guard is walking up & down telling people, once they have scanned, not to push okay until they leave as it will record the length of time they are there. That's a load of rubbish right?

Yes, it's some fake news that TVNZ published earlier this year and a lot of people believed it at the time. I think it's why the label on the button got changed from 'finished' to 'okay'.

Hello yes, I wasn't super involved but was in some discussions about changing the text of that button literally because Hilary Barry told 500k people that Nigel Latta told her that you have to wait and push Finished when you actually leave the venue.

Something that really fascinates me is how easily NZers are influenced by news media from overseas. There are some jurisdictions that have apps that require signing-out, and so I wonder if that's why some NZers thought we had to do it too (in addition to it being a feature in Rippl). We've also seen it in the use of therm "track and trace" which is from the UK, even though MOH has not used that phrase. And lots of people thinking that the govt has a centralised QR code database, possibly because they expect that's what govt would do, possibly because that's how it works in Singapore and Australia.

Research Fellow, Koi Tu: The Centre for Informed Futures, The University of Auckland
I know a bit about the NZ COVID Tracer app, but I don't work for Ministry of Health

DS248

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#2764435 21-Aug-2021 16:53

jerryb:
DS248:

One weakness in the whole system is that the design is based on recording entry to 'public' places whereas for many people, most contact with other people will be at private addresses, etc.

Similarly open spaces like parks, kids playgrounds etc. One place I do go (less regularly than I should!) is around Orewa Estuary for a run. In the age of Delta perhaps locations like these need QR codes though not certain how it would work with almost unlimited entry point (not going to stop and scan partway through a timed run).

Better still (& at the risk of a hostile reception), why not just make the system more secure and turn on location tracking in the app? All data simplified to the min required and properly secured.

Isn't that what the Bluetooth mode is for? (Genuine question)
- You're in a park and you walk past someone coming the opposite direction.
- You both have the app, with the Bluetooth feature switched on.
- The phones do their little handshake and each of them records the other's ID.
- The other person tests positive a few days later. - Their Bluetooth log (in the app) shows that the two phones were in each other's vicinity.

Isn't that how it works?

And what % of the public has the Bluetooth mode activated & active at any given point in time?

@jonherries: Would be a nice addition if the app reported the number of Bluetooth handshakes recorded each day. Even nicer if per general location (to exclude the potentially very large number of handshakes with my wife's phone while at home). Anything to encourage greater use.

I have it activated continuously but have no idea if or how many handshakes it is recording.

Some public reporting on the benefit it is providing to contact tracers in the present situation would also be good comms. Or have I missed something,.

andrewchen

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#2764440 21-Aug-2021 16:58

DS248:

And what % of the public has the Bluetooth mode activated & active at any given point in time?

@jonherries: Would be a nice addition if the app reported the number of Bluetooth handshakes recorded each day. Even nicer if per general location (to exclude the potentially very large number of handshakes with my wife's phone while at home). Anything to encourage greater use.

I have it activated continuously but have no idea if or how many handshakes it is recording.

Some public reporting on the benefit it is providing to contact tracers in the present situation would also be good comms. Or have I missed something,.

We have the number of devices that have reported participating in Bluetooth Tracing within the last 24 hours (currently about 1.73 mil). Unfortunately I don't think we can get data on the number of handshakes, because the handshakes occur on the device and there is no reporting back to the central MOH server about them.

But I would definitely encourage more reporting on the benefit that these systems are providing to contact tracers. We need more case studies that show that it has been successful - I know that there have been some good stories in previous cases/outbreaks (e.g. Christchurch, Northland) and can't understand why they haven't been shared more widely.

Research Fellow, Koi Tu: The Centre for Informed Futures, The University of Auckland
I know a bit about the NZ COVID Tracer app, but I don't work for Ministry of Health

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