Thread: Covid 19 App poll.

Do people realise that the more restrictions are eased, the more we need this app?

One of the reasons health authorities have been able to do a reasonable job of tracing contacts so far is that at the moment most of us have so few contacts. As the number of contacts most of us have increase as the restrictions are eased, the more difficult it becomes to trace all the contacts of positive cases.

The health authorities will have a better chance of notifying people who might have been infected if the app is widely used.

It won't identify every contact, but the health authorities will need all the help they can get if we start mixing with dozens or hundreds of people rather than the limited number we have contact with at present.

I wonder how many of the people complaining loudest about the restrictions are the same people who are refusing to download the app. Logically, the opposite should be the case. Those who want more freedom should be the ones downloading the app. They are the ones whose contacts the health authorities will find most difficult to trace without this app.

Originally Posted by vnx205

Those who want more freedom should be the ones downloading the app.

so you admit the govt has removed some of our freedoms?

thats why I wont download the app.

Originally Posted by vnx205

Do people realise that the more restrictions are eased, the more we need this app?

One of the reasons health authorities have been able to do a reasonable job of tracing contacts so far is that at the moment most of us have so few contacts. As the number of contacts most of us have increase as the restrictions are eased, the more difficult it becomes to trace all the contacts of positive cases.

The health authorities will have a better chance of notifying people who might have been infected if the app is widely used.

It won't identify every contact, but the health authorities will need all the help they can get if we start mixing with dozens or hundreds of people rather than the limited number we have contact with at present.

I wonder how many of the people complaining loudest about the restrictions are the same people who are refusing to download the app. Logically, the opposite should be the case. Those who want more freedom should be the ones downloading the app. They are the ones whose contacts the health authorities will find most difficult to trace without this app.

Well said, yor first line sums it up,....jeez, it ain't rocket science.
Pickles.

Originally Posted by workingonit

Oh, come on guys...flame me! It's been nearly an hour since posting. Have I killed the thread through tedium?

A lot of the delay was caused by the fact that I had to read your post a number of times trying to find something you had written that justified your "Definitely not" decision.

A few of us have had to select the option closest to our decision even if it wasn't an exact match.

It seems to me that the points you raised justified selecting an option somewhere amongst the bottom three. They seem to be closer the conclusion that your arguments point to.

I don't suppose this satisfies your expectation to be flamed, but it is the best I can manage at the moment.

Originally Posted by Eevo

so you admit the govt has removed some of our freedoms?

thats why I wont download the app.

That has to be one of the least logical posts I've seen lately.

You object to the government restriction of our freedom. At least that is the conclusion I draw from your posts.

Yet you refuse to do something that would allow the government to restore some of those freedoms.

Of course it may be that I have misjudged you. It may be that you enjoy the restrictions and want them to continue.

Originally Posted by vnx205

Yet you refuse to do something that would allow the government to restore some of those freedoms.

sounds like blackmail.

Originally Posted by vnx205

It may be that you enjoy the restrictions and want them to continue.

i tend to do my own thing. restrictions or not.

Originally Posted by vnx205

............................ Those who want more freedom should be the ones downloading the app. They are the ones whose contacts the health authorities will find most difficult to trace without this app.

I'm right with you on this one, except for one 'minor' issue.

Today I downloaded the app. and actually left our rural property basically for the first time in several weeks. Thought I'd do 'the right thing' even with reservations about the app. Well not so much about the app. but with the global data mining company that has been given the task of storing/managing the data. IMO anyone who thinks that Amazon will not incorporate this data into their global database, should they wish, is totally delusional. Even so I don't really give a **** as it's a small price to pay for the overall good that the Coronavirus app. offers.

So I downloaded and installed the app. from the link provided by the Australian Government Coronavirus website. My understanding of the app. 'as advertised', is that it gathers Bluetooth info. from nearby also 'app. enabled' mobile phones and stores it for a period of time so that it can be used to contact trace these nearby users in case of infection. No worries here.

A minor 'discrepancy' appears to be that the app. gathers Bluetooth data from ALL nearby phones regardless of whether the Coronavirus app. is installed or not ! Again, I don't really give a ****, but why lie about it ?

The 'minor' issue I'm referring to is that 'Location' MUST be enabled for the app. to work, a prerequisite that is definitely NOT mentioned in the Coronavirus app. hype. WTF this has to do with the proximity I may have to another like Coronavirus app. user is beyond me. My understanding is that enabling 'Location' is a phone specific setting not an app. specific setting. ie. 'one in all in'.

I make it a point not to install any app. that requires location info. which is never enabled on my phone. Call me a 'tin hat' or overly paranoid but that's the way it is. It never ceases to amaze me that however benign an app. may appear a request for photo, file and location access often follows. Not for this little black duck, unnecessary data collection is an intrusion I do not tolerate, especially if done by stealth, projection of guilt or for any other reason. Unfortunately this is SOP for sales/marketing and politicians of all stripes, they just can't help themselves, but I'm not playing that game.

Deano

My understanding is that location needs to be enabled on Android for bluetooth to work. This does not apply to iOS, and is hardly the fault of the developers of the app. I am like you - I never have location turned on. But it is a bit academic, as the app does not work on my phone.