Researchers: Yue Huang, Borke Obada, and Konstantin Beznosov
Numerous smartphone apps have been implemented worldwide to help with contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effectiveness of contact tracing apps is dependent on many issues, including the adoption rate, positive case reporting rate, and long-term usage of the app. Previous work focused on identifying the privacy and security risks associated with the contact tracing apps, as well as learning the public’s intentions of adopting the app. However, the experiences of real users of contact tracing apps have received little attention. With the novel coronavirus continuing to spread worldwide and the low adoption of contact tracing apps in many countries and regions, there is a need to investigate people’s desire for exposure notification as well as their experiences with contact tracing apps. Therefore, in the study, we investigate the motivations and expectations of COVID Alert app users for learning about their exposure to COVID-19, their pre-installation behaviours, their mental models of the COVID Alert app, and their concerns about the app. Find out more about the study here.