NHSX has published the source code of the NHS COVID-19 contact tracing app.
The app is currently only available for download on the Isle of Wight, with over 40,000 residents at time of writing having downloaded the app.
The pilot is said to inform how the app might be rolled out further, and whether a decentralised or centralised approach will be taken. Currently the NHS has taken the route of a centralised approach where anonymised data from phones are uploaded to a central server.
The NHS have stated that the initial rollout of the app on the Isle is not a test but the first stage of wide scale implementation.
NHSX published the source code and documentation guides here:
- Android: https://github.com/nhsx/COVID-19-app-Android-BETA
- iOS: https://github.com/nhsx/COVID-19-app-iOS-BETA
- Documentation: https://github.com/nhsx/COVID-19-app-Documentation-BETA
The move to share the source code appears to be welcomed, however greater understanding on how the data might be used and data processing information is required.
On Tuesday 28 April 2020 in a session with MPs on the Commons science and technology committee, Matthew Gould, CEO, NHSX when questioned extensively on how the data might be used during and after the pandemic and on privacy, Gould re-iterated that all data will only be used for NHS care and research. For research users would have to opt-in.
There have been conflicted views across Europe in particular, regarding centralised vs decentralised approaches; Germany is one such country to opt for the decentralised approach. The thinking behind decentralisation according to some experts, is that data is more secure as mass data is not uploaded onto one server.
