HK govt tracing app to record locations automatically

The government says its Covid-19 tracing app will record people's whereabouts automatically in the future, saving them the need to check in and out of places they visit.

On a radio program today (Jan. 4), deputy chief information officer Tony Wong said officials are trying to enhance the "LeaveHomeSafe" app, which was launched in November to help authorities combat the pandemic.

After scanning a QR code as they enter venues such as restaurants, and tapping a button as they leave, the app is able to inform users if a Covid-19 infection is later linked to the same place and time.

Wong said in future, transmitters will be installed in various establishments across the city, so the app can pick up signals and record users' locations by itself.

He said the government is still undecided on whether businesses should be forced to install these transmitters, and the authorities may first try out the system in selected places, for example on minibusses.

Wong said users' privacy will be protected, with data only recorded on their mobile phones rather than on any government server.

Speaking on the same program, the honorary chairman of the Information Technology Federation, Francis Fong, said the automatic location recording would indeed make the app more convenient for its users.

But he said the system, which will make use of transmitters known as "iBeacons", may still have its limitations.

"If it is a crowded place, like a shopping mall where there are many restaurants located in a very crowded environment, when a user checks in their location, he may find actually there are a few iBeacons in the effective range of say 10 to a 100 meters. So there may be a problem that the user may have to select manually which restaurant he is checking in," he said.

Fong also said that getting establishments to install the transmitters would be more difficult than asking them to stick up the QR codes that are currently being used.

The IT expert said he does not see much of a privacy issue with the new system, but the bigger issue government officials are facing is a lack of public confidence in them.

"The [majority] of the citizens don't believe in the government, so they don't believe in any of the applications provided by the government. This poses a bigger challenge to fighting the Covid-19 using technology, instead of only the technology itself," he said.

The "Leave Home Safe" app has received a lukewarm response from the public so far, with some 400,000 people having installed the app.

The government has now mandated venues like restaurants to display a QR code for the app, and it has also refused to rule out making it compulsory for the public to use it.

(Source: RTHK)