Are you Going to use the COVIDsafe App?

[serfty]

I did research this a fair bit and I decided I was happy to:

Privacy Policy

The COVIDSafe app speeds up contacting people exposed to coronavirus (COVID-19). This helps us support and protect you, your friends and family. Please read the content on this page before downloading.

www.health.gov.au

 

[tomlee1986]

Agree. This is should be a civilised discussion forum that allows us to have & discuss differing views on subjects and also should allow members to participate or not participate to the extent they wish as long as they show respect for other members. (I do, however, have a strong preference not to be reading some of the pure rants in some threads on here loaded with unsupported hyperbole - not applicable/unrelated to current discussion )

I am more willing to respond... this is because many people in the public - not just here on AFF but in general public might think we are being rebellious or personal selfishness in not downloading or using such app. For some people, I wholeheartedly agree, but unfortunately for some people, this app will bring back nightmares in dealing with the past, such as communist or dictator governments that they fled from. that's why i would be more than willing to share these experiences to people in Australia whom are luckily enough to never experienced it in their lifetime

Post automatically merged: Apr 29, 2020

Please keep going ... I've googled what API is, but in the context of this discussion, where/how does it apply for the mug public like me?

API is more of a technological term that are more suited to app developers - using versions of android or IOS... not that much useful to the public like ourselves

 

[RooFlyer]

Re data privacy, I happily admit to being totally inconsistent. I don't use Facebook, partly for 'privacy' reasons, but also I don't like how it comes to dominate people's time and views on the world. AFF is enough 'social media' for me . I also don't give out phone or e-mail when its requested by shops, sites, hotels etc except when its strictly necessary (ie I can't get what I want without it; in most cases i use a 'throw-away' e-mail or my Telstra phone landline, which is permanently on silent and never answered). If I receive unsolicited e-mails, I chase up the sender asking how they got my e-mails and telling them to delete me from their database, and to tell me they have done so. I've dobbed a couple of businesses into the 'Privacy commissioner' when they told me they had deleted, but then a year later, promo e-mails started again.

On the other hand, I've never resisted giving data to the government - I fill in all the 'optional' fields in the census and tick for them to permanently keep the name-associated data (mainly for future family historians , being one myself). People would have gathered that I don't mind the COVIDSafe app, also, I use My Health Record, etc. Reasoning is that between my tax returns, drivers licence and other unavoidable stuff, the government knows more about me already than any of this new stuff could contribute. If Trump wants to get me, he's had plenty of opportunity already, so I think I'm safe.

My big concession is Google. I made a conscious decision years ago to surrender to it. Several reasons. 1) They give so much good and useful stuff on-line, that I regard it as a transaction - they give me good stuff for no monetary consideration, I give 'em information about myself. I pin down the 'privacy' settings as tightly as I can, and give them as much fake info about myself as possible, but I know they are still spying on me. 2) I don't really care what they know about me location etc -wise. 3) I never see ads etc, or if they are there, I honestly don't notice them, so if people want to pay Google to flog stuff to me, good luck.

Oh, also overseas governments. To get a Russian Visa, you have to give out an incredible amount of personal information - about your parents, where you've been in the past 10 years, even your last 2 employers and their details! There are almost 100 countries around the world that have at least a copy of my passport photo/ID page. I've been visiting Canada for over 30 years, including to study and work. I found out in one of the interviews I had that their 'file' on me strung all my passports, addresses, contact details etc together in a neat chronological package. I couldn't recreate that today if I wanted to.

i may be naive, but I'm happy in that state.

 

[serfty]

Please keep going ... I've googled what API is, but in the context of this discussion, where/how does it apply for the mug public like me?

Application Programming Interface - They are tools (essentially a black box of code) which can be used to perform a specific function.

In this case with iOS I suspect it would be a means of keeping an app running in the background, even though the device is locked - something that is currently not very easy with apple devices.

 

[Walloper]

I've got it - as have my family.

We already give far more information to everyone else on our phone! The tracking sceptics regarding this app are fools.

 

[wombatpatties]

Yes, hubby and I have with no qualms.
We don't do Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram etc.,
My phone beeps, lets me know I'm safe, rather cute eh? On a serious note, the virus has made one aware
of social contact is necessary. Being a loner usually, I agree, I miss the hugs, kisses and banter among friends.

 

[wandering_fred]

With regional travel limitations and no regional active reported cases, I will defer installation until I have to go (and am permitted to go) somewhere else.....

Then again I still have the older style non-smart phones I could put my SIM into.....
They apparently still work for telephone calls and receiving SMS messages

Abnormal wandering?
Fred

 

[prozac]

Me and missus both signed up.
Whingers will always whinge no matter what you tell them, they simply don't understand their phone is tracking them across the country and supplying far more intrusive personal data to 3rd party collectors. I am sure university of facebook will tell them what they should do.

 

[Maca44]

Did my researched before the app was released, and then signed up on the night of release.
As others have posted, big brother is everywhere and if they want to find you they will.
This app is trying to get Aus back to where it was, so why not assist

 

[get me outta here]

And further :

Apple and Google partner on COVID-19 contact tracing technology

Apple and Google announce a joint effort to help governments and health agencies reduce the spread of the virus, with user privacy central to the design.

www.apple.com

Application Programming Interface - In this case it is a tool (essentially a black box of code) which can be used to perform a specific function; in this case with iOS. I suspect it would be a means of keeping an app running in the background, even though the device is locked - something that is currently not very easy with apple devices.

 

[Millie]

Not sure, when I tried to download I was rather overwhelmed with the variety of options that are similar.

 

[Barks]

Yep, downloaded and registered.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Not sure, when I tried to download I was rather overwhelmed with the variety of options that are similar.

This is the official COVID-safe App

 

[albatross710]

I registered for the app using a pseudonym as permitted in the T&Cs for the CovidSAFE app. I respect that a suitable agency could do a reverse number lookup, however that's not in the permitted uses.

If I' get a text or a phone call looking for 'Vladimir" and it's from from an Indian telemrketing selling me rooftop solar panels - then I'll know the source.

 

[BAM1748]

Arrrrgh!! SBS news just described it as a 'tracking app' Yeah, journos ... Quote any at your peril ...

It may not track you geographically however it does track whom you're with. So not entirely incorrect.

 

[mrsterryn]

Would download except am also geo blocked

 

[Rod James]

Yes. Without reservation.

Has everyone downloaded the app.

 

[Caversham04]

Why is there a 15-minute proximity trigger for what is reportedly a highly infectious virus?

 

[Rod James]

PS I forgot : My better half also downloaded it too.

 

[OATEK]

It may not track you geographically however it does track whom you're with. So not entirely incorrect.

I think there is still confusion about whether it is tracking you in real-time. If the government was seeking to track you, and had obtained the appropriate authorisation, they would do it through cell towers and GPS.

In this case you are not being tracked as you move about. You are storing some details of which mobile phones you have been near, but that is all. And as it is stored on your phone, it can't be used to track you, unless you decide to upload it to Health. And it is only kept on you hone for 21 days, so no one can come back in say 12 months to try and use the data in legal proceedings.

It would have to be a situation where you had developed Covid-19, and uploaded your data, before anyone can begin to see who you have been near.

So it cannot be used in any real time way to track your progress through life, as the data is only on your phone. Much easier for authorities to get a court order and track you in real time if they see a need than to try and cobble something together from the Covid-19 app.

 

[11sjw]

Not having been through the previou 10 or so pages I don't know if this article against the app has been posted. Worth a read.

Former top public servant: I won't download the coronavirus app