UK NHS undecided on contact tracing app, switch to Apple-Google API being considered

The rollout of the U.K. contact tracing app has been beset by confusion. Credit: AFP

The U.K. National Health Service is charging ahead with plans to release its contact tracing app, despite there still being unanswered questions about its functionality.

Unlike countries like Switzerland and Latvia, the U.K. decided earlier in 2020 to reject the Apple-Google Exposure Notification API in favor of its own system. That was apparently due to disagreements about how data about exposure and contact data should be stored.

The BBC reported on Thursday that ministers are still "considering switching the app over to tech developed by Apple and Google." That's due to concerns about the risks of the country's current "go-it-alone" contact tracing initiative.

Although originally planned for a May release, the U.K.'s app has yet to debut. It is currently being tested on the Isle of Wight, according to The Times, with plans to release it "within a fortnight." But early trials of the app on the island have confused some testers.

Some of the confusion is tied to a feature called an "amber warning," which is sent to a user's phone when they've been in contact with a person who self-reports symptoms but hasn't been officially diagnosed.

The Times notes that some testers criticized the warning "as it raised their anxiety without giving clear instructions as to what they could and could not do."

Another issue could be the use of the app in crowded housing environments, such as apartment towers. Because of the proximity of people in these areas, users could potentially get exposure notifications from people they've never actually been in contact with. On May 19, a pair of security researchers based in Australia also identified seven security flaws within the app's source code.

Earlier in May, the NHS was apparently mulling a switch to the Apple-Google API. As of early June, the NHS itself didn't appear to have any plans to do so.

The head of the NHSX, Matthew Gould, made it clear that the decision to forego the Silicon Valley solution wasn't set in stone. "If it becomes clear that a different approach is a better one and achieves the things that we need to achieve more effectively, we will change," Gould told a parliamentary committee on May 4.

Digital contact tracing efforts are further ahaed in Europe than they are in the U.S, where only a handful of states have apps available or in testing.