When tech experts proposed building smartphone apps to try to track the spread of the coronavirus, there was some skepticism: Would people who live in privacy-focused democracies really want to download these apps?
On Monday, Australia provided the beginning of an answer, as more than 2 million people there downloaded a government-sponsored app to try to assist authorities with contact tracing — a sizable dent in a country of 25 million people. The app became available only Sunday night.
“Well done Australia,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a congratulatory tweet, before warning that “we’ve still got more to do.”
And in Europe, which has often squared off against big tech companies over privacy concerns, many countries are falling in line with recommendations from Apple and Google for how to run tracing apps.
Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
With the U.S., U.K. and Europe beginning to make plans to ease lockdowns, smartphone contact-tracing apps that were theoretical just a few weeks ago now appear close to a reality. The surge of interest shows that smartphone-based virus tracking has moved from the realm of “if it happens” to “when it happens,” becoming an increasingly accepted part of a larger strategy to try to return to something close to normal life.
Apple and Google threw their weight behind the planning this month, saying they would build out the technology that governments could use to deploy their own apps. And now other governments besides Australia’s, including Germany and several other European countries, have taken up the task.
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