Will you download the contact tracing app?

Thoie

plodder wrote: »

The "number of keys" relates to people who have reported been infected and it's their keys that get uploaded from their phone and then distributed to other people's phones for checking within the following couple of hours. Each number is the number of new keys since the last time you checked. So, I'm guessing it could be zero, but the iOS version of the app doesn't show the zero reports at all. To complicate it further, there was a bug on Android where it was always reporting zero, but that has been fixed. I only noticed that it was fixed myself today.

So, at the time when I saw 10 keys, it was that 10 people in the country had uploaded their "infected status" within the previous few hours, and nothing to do with the people I was near? And in theory, anyone else using the app should see Number of keys = 10 (give or take) for a similar time stamp?

I thought it was telling me that I'd been near 10 people using the app (not infected people, just other people) at closer than x distance for more than y amount of time. I was trying to figure out if it was counting the other 3 people multiple times as their keys changed.

robinph

Thoie wrote: »

So, at the time when I saw 10 keys, it was that 10 people in the country had uploaded their "infected status" within the previous few hours, and nothing to do with the people I was near? And in theory, anyone else using the app should see Number of keys = 10 (give or take) for a similar time stamp?

I thought it was telling me that I'd been near 10 people using the app (not infected people, just other people) at closer than x distance for more than y amount of time. I was trying to figure out if it was counting the other 3 people multiple times as their keys changed.

If that is what the number means then I've been seeing a number in the 1500 range from the German app.

hmmm

https://twitter.com/JackHoJo/status/1288419448102301696

plodder

Thoie wrote: »

So, at the time when I saw 10 keys, it was that 10 people in the country had uploaded their "infected status" within the previous few hours, and nothing to do with the people I was near?

Some number of people had uploaded their "infected status". It would be less than ten though as each person uploads multiple keys (one per day).

And in theory, anyone else using the app should see Number of keys = 10 (give or take) for a similar time stamp?

Yes, exactly. Everyone should be seeing the same information. Though it might vary a bit depending on when each phone checks in.

I thought it was telling me that I'd been near 10 people using the app (not infected people, just other people) at closer than x distance for more than y amount of time. I was trying to figure out if it was counting the other 3 people multiple times as their keys changed.

No, they could report that information as well, but it seems they don't. It could be a privacy issue if you are sitting next to someone on a bus and then you go looking to see if a key was stored in your phone. Not that it would tell you anything other than whether they have the app.

fly_agaric

hmmm wrote: »

I believe it's to remind people that it is turned on, so that no-one can claim they were secretly being tracked. Like those annoying cookie notices on websites

Yeah, you're probably right.

Thoie wrote:

And in theory, anyone else using the app should see Number of keys = 10 (give or take) for a similar time stamp?

Just guessing here as well but number seen should be dependent on when your phone last contacted HSE server to get new infected keys + ran checks for a match etc. So the numbers are (I think) fairly meaningless, personal to you and don't relate to anyone or anything else (which is why I assume they are in the bowels of the settings, rather than presented to the user).

ACitizenErased

hmmm wrote: »

https://twitter.com/JackHoJo/status/1288419448102301696

Thats great stuff so far

eigrod

I get the notification on my phone once a week that I have been in close contact with 0 Covid cases, but once the notification disappears from my phone, I don’t seem to be able to see that information anywhere within the app itself. Does anyone know where to see it within the app ?

Capt'n Midnight

NI has launched their app which is compatible with our one.
BBC news claimed was a world first by working with an app from another country. Our app does that too :rolleyes:





NI app details - only for NI because you need an NI test before you can opt-in to sharing the anonymous keys that changed every 15 minutes.
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coronavirus-covid-19-stopcovid-ni-proximity-app

Downloads
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.hscni.covidtracker

Apple https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/stopcovidni/id1519404160

AlmightyCushion

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

NI has launched their app which is compatible with our one.
BBC news claimed was a world first by working with an app from another country. Our app does that too :rolleyes:

This is what they actually said.

There's been a lot of talk of the importance of getting contact tracing apps to work across borders - but between them Northern Ireland and the Republic have done it, a world first.

They gave claim to both countries not just Northern Ireland.

FutureTeashock

I have a feeling our northern neighbours won't be so quick to download the tracking device.

There were far fewer people wearing masks north of the border when I was in Belfast recently.

robinph

Switched to the NI app now in anticipation of there being more chance of the test code being the same as the rest of the UK.

The NI app looks very dark and gloomy though with lots of grey used. I guess any use of red, green, blue or orange is restricted though which makes the app design tricky.

plodder

eigrod wrote: »

I get the notification on my phone once a week that I have been in close contact with 0 Covid cases, but once the notification disappears from my phone, I don’t seem to be able to see that information anywhere within the app itself. Does anyone know where to see it within the app ?

That notification is probably coming from the Notification Service rather than the app - so won't be visible in the app. If you have Android, there may be a way to review old notifications as explained here. Not sure about iOS.

CrabRevolution

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

This is what they actually said.

They gave claim to both countries not just Northern Ireland.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53525712

Not sure where you pulled your quote from, but the BBC certainly didn't credit both countries:

wrote:

It looks then as though Northern Ireland has come up with a world first, a contact tracing system that works across borders.

robinph

CrabRevolution wrote: »

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53525712

Not sure where you pulled your quote from, but the BBC certainly didn't credit both countries:

That article is from the 24th July, but it does also include this line:

The officials also revealed their app will work across the border, as will Ireland's Covid Tracker.

No need to be offended. The Irish app couldn't claim to work across borders though until the NI one existed. It's a bit of a chicken and egg situation.

CrabRevolution

robinph wrote: »

That article is from the 24th July, but it does also include this line:

No need to be offended. The Irish app couldn't claim to work across borders though until the NI one existed. It's a bit of a chicken and egg situation.

It's not a matter of offence, but it does seem sloppy. It's like crediting one person with winning the doubles at Wimbledon.

Irish_peppa

Now its been out a while , Is it worth downloading this app considering i dont have a hell of a lot of free memory on my phone? Or is it the type of thing you would check when you get sick and thats all?

Capt'n Midnight

Irish_peppa wrote: »

Now its been out a while , Is it worth downloading this app considering i dont have a hell of a lot of free memory on my phone? Or is it the type of thing you would check when you get sick and thats all?

Maybe it's time to clear some crud off your phone
or move apps to SD card or delete the ryanair/aer lingus/easyjet travel apps you won't be using for a while.

People can infect others before symptoms show so best to have it running in the background , something like 1.8% battery usage.

After that ignore it unless it pops up a warning or you want to self report any symptoms.

sterz

Downloaded it this morning but my phone doesn't support contact tracing. I guess I'll use it to check-in but not sure if that's a whole lot of help.

Irish_peppa

sterz wrote: »

Downloaded it this morning but my phone doesn't support contact tracing. I guess I'll use it to check-in but not sure if that's a whole lot of help.

Did the app actually tell you that your phone does not support contact tracing or I wonder is there a setting you have to change? Maybe update to newest firmware? Android?

Fr_Dougal

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Maybe it's time to clear some crud off your phone
or move apps to SD card or delete the ryanair/aer lingus/easyjet travel apps you won't be using for a while.

People can infect others before symptoms show so best to have it running in the background , something like 1.8% battery usage.

After that ignore it unless it pops up a warning or you want to self report any symptoms.

I have a fairly new top end phone, this app is killing my battery. Samsung Device Care singled it out as a massive battery drain.

Not sure if it’s because of an update to the app, but I’ve had to disable it.

swampgas

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

I have a fairly new top end phone, this app is killing my battery. Samsung Device Care singled it out as a massive battery drain.

Not sure if it’s because of an update to the app, but I’ve had to disable it.

Same here. Was fine for a week and then the phone started to get hot. Power consumption shot up despite a few phone restarts and the tracing app was reported as causing excessive battery and power use.

lertsnim

It's a huge drain on my OnePlus 7T Pro too. I had no problems with it till last night.

radiotrickster

The app gave me a notification about a week ago that my phone hasn't enough memory available to give notifications if I'm in contact with someone. I've 9GB free on my iPhone XR. Nothing in the app mentions this. I regret not screenshotting the notif but I was in the middle of something and just quickly read and closed it, expecting there to be more info in the app.

VG31

My phone got very hot yesterday and the battery was draining. I uninstalled the Covid app and now it's fine. Everyone in my house had the same problem (all Android). It must have been an update because it was fine before.

pennydreadful

VG31 wrote: »

My phone got very hot yesterday and the battery was draining. Uninstalled the Covid app and now it's fine. Everyone in my house had the same problem (all Android).

Very same problem here. Uninstalled today, don't want to have to take that step but my phone was burning up and dying within an hour earlier today

Ohmeha

Hmmm my Android phone has all of a sudden been burning through my battery since yesterday aswell

Kerry25x

pennydreadful wrote: »

Very same problem here. Uninstalled today, don't want to have to take that step but my phone was burning up and dying within an hour earlier today

Unfortunately had the same problem on my Samsung S9+. I've uninstalled it temporarily, won't be leaving the house this weekend anyway, I'll try downloading it again in a couple days.

lafors

Exact same issue oneplus 8 pro.
Since this morning its drained my battery fully and on its way through it again. Uninstalled. I noticed it after my phone got really hot.

Oh my Dad mentioned massive battery drain with his phone to me earlier. I'll mention it to him about the app and see if that fixes it.

fly_agaric

Got odd message on my phone (android) early this morning about applications using the cpu excessively and it suggested restarting.
I did that. I can see "Google Play Services" (i.e. the Exposure Notification) and the HSE App used abnormal amounts of power today (their battery use is usually negligible ~ 1 % or less). As far as I can tell, they are back to using normal amounts of battery power after doing the restart. Maybe an update or a change that affected some users (?)