Within the next two weeks, the government will be unveiling the new contact tracing app with which it aims to prevent the spread of Covid-19. 

Australia launched its COVIDSafe app last Sunday, and within hours more than one million people had downloaded it. The Australian app warns users if they have more than 15 minutes of close contact with someone who tests positive.

In the four days from April 13 to 17, approximately 80 per cent of close contacts of new Covid cases were traced within 48 hours of that case being notified to the unit. With the new app, the government aims to increase that number so that no potential infections go undetected. 

The app would use mobile data to track the movements of people with the virus. However, many people have concerns over the breaches of privacy such an app could have. 

Privacy Commissioner John Edwards said his office was working with developers of the Covid contact tracing app to ensure it had good information about privacy implications. 

In a survey of 1,000 Kiwis, 73 per cent said they would be willing to download the app.

When asked if they were likely to download the app, one local said “that’s a tricky one! I feel like I’d like to know if I’ve been exposed but wouldn’t want to be ‘tracked’”.

Another said that they would happily download it if it helped end Covid-19 in New Zealand. “The faster that the virus is eliminated in New Zealand, the faster everything can get back on track. If that means that for a short period of time the government has this information about me, then so be it”.