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Comment by fudged71 | Hacker News Reader

My region never got access to this app, so I’m curious

For those who have it, did it change your behavior? Did you have contact and it made you avoid crowded spaces? Did you get tested because of contact logs?

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I don't know of anyone in the USA who has used these apps. They never really took off. Since they rely on a "network effect" to be useful... even if you installed one, few people you came in range of would have it installed.

https://apnews.com/article/us-news-smartphones-coronavirus-p...

I tried it, it was state specific and required self reporting positive cases to alert others. I suspect the heavy opt in nature made it much less useful. I'm curious if it was useful in some areas

I have had it installed since it became available in California. I received one exposure notification on April 11th from an exposure on April 1, which seems too late to be useful. I immediately tested and it was negative.

And here is what the exposure notification looks like: https://imgur.com/a/qyLHxUQ

Why do you think this was too late?

14 days is the the CDC's window for contact tracing and self-isolation, based on how long it takes symptoms to show up after exposure. This seems in line with that.

11 days after the exposure, if contracted I'd have a ~95% chance of already showing symptoms and exposing others. There is a higher chance I'd have realized I have COVID before the exposure notification system told me I was exposed. So not too helpful.

But if my thinking is wrong, please correct me.

[1] - As per the CDF on pg. 5 of https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/bmjopen/10/8/e039652.full.pd...

Brit here. I refused to install the NHS Covid app until they revamped it to improve privacy. I once received a notice that my device recorded a beacon which was later submitted as from a infected person, but it didn't require me to take action as it was otherwise outside of criteria (either distance or duration). They eventually removed these warnings as they are not helpful.

If it informed me that I had to quarantine and/or get tested I would definitely do so.

I installed the contact tracing app as soon as it was available, and still have it running. I've never gotten a contact from it. Some of that is probably me being careful and not being around others much, and some of it is probably that almost nobody else is running it.

people often forget the other half: the confirmed cases need to be uploaded. in Italy, that was the biggest weak point, even places with a fairly wide install base didn't get much benefit since the ausl didn't had the processes in place to share the test results, as the ingress effort was fragmented and left to be implemented with local resources, a mess of regional responsibilities and uncertain protocols, i.e. https://corrieredelveneto.corriere.it/veneto/politica/20_ott... (source in italian)

+1 to this in NY

I've been using the German version since it came out in July, I think. It's working great in that I've never been warned even once, but my social interactions also have been limited to going to the supermarket on Saturdays for a bit more than one year now. So probably it was correct to never warn me. Adoption is also low, so you really can't tell.

I installed it immediately. However I've never got a notice, but I've also never tested positive so it's hard to say how well it worked, or know how many around me had it too.

It did give me a little peace of mind when I went grocery shopping however.

I had it installed up until this week (just got vaxed, frequently turn off bluetooth and rarely leave the house). Never got a notification, just a lot of warnings to leave my bluetooth on while sitting in my living room...

I’ve been using it here in Hong Kong ever since the government made it mandatory. I did have to get tested after someone in my gym tested positive.

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