UK’s centralised COVID-19 app will offer more insight, says programme head

LONDON: The COVID-19 smartphone app being developed by Britain will be able to give serious insights into the virus by virtue of using centralised matching, despite its offering less privacy than rival apps, the head of the programme said.

Countries are rushing to develop apps which, along with a wider testing and tracking programme, are seen as key to easing social distancing rules that have all but shut global economies.

Britain has opted for a centralised model, whereby a list of contacts made via bluetooth signals are stored on a users’ device as anonymous tokens.