Protect Scotland App: Scotland now has its own proximity tracing app

Smartphone users across Scotland are being urged to download NHS Scotland’s new contact tracing app – Protect Scotland – to help suppress the spread of COVID-19. Supported by a dedicated Protect Scotland website, the app is an extra tool complementing existing person-to-person contact tracing which remains the main component of NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect system.

Individuals privacy will be protected as the app uses Bluetooth technology to anonymously alert users if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, and advises them to self-isolate. Users of the app who test positive will still get a call from a contact tracer to confirm their details and who they have been in close contact with.

The app does not store details on an individual or their location but uses encrypted, anonymised codes exchanged between smartphones to determine all close contacts. Close contacts are defined as people who have been within two metres of someone who has tested positive for 15 minutes.

Built by software developers NearForm for NHS Scotland, the app uses the same technology as the Republic of Ireland and Northern Irish proximity tracing apps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzGzh0msKNA

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:

“The launch of the app is a welcome development which will offer an additional level of protection – supporting NHS Scotland’s Test and Protect system as it works to drive down the spread of COVID-19 across the country.

“I would encourage everyone to download the free app if they have a compatible smartphone, and help slow the spread of COVID-19.  This will support the work of NHS Scotland and has the potential to help avoid local lockdowns. 

“The more people who download and use the app, the more effective it can be in helping to make connections that may otherwise have been missed. This will allow people to self-isolate quickly if they are exposed to the virus, reducing the risk of them infecting others.

“We all have a part to play in suppressing the virus, and downloading the app – alongside other vital measures such as following hygiene and physical distancing guidance – will help protect you, your family and your community.

“We also know that not everyone uses a smartphone or will be able to or want to access the app, which is why this software is very much there to complement existing contact tracing methods.”

The app uses Bluetooth technology to alert users if they have been in prolonged close contact with someone who has since tested positive for Covid-19.

When an individual tests positive for the virus they are contacted by a contact tracer via text, phone or email.

The contact tracer will ask them if they are an app user and if they are willing to use the app’s upload function to anonymously alert close contacts.

If they agree, they’ll be sent a unique code to their mobile which unlocks this function on the app.

By sharing their positive test result in this way it forms part of an anonymous database.

The app on other users’ phones regularly checks this database to see if they have been in contact with an infected person and a warning is automatically issued when a match is found.

Users are then urged to self-isolate for 14 days.

Android and iOS App Differences

The Protect Scotland app is built upon Google and Apple Exposure Notification technology and there are some subtle differences between how this works on Apple and Android devices.

The way the Android system handles exposure notifications means that both Bluetooth and location need to be turned on, and the Android system itself notifies you when you turn one or both off, rather than the Protect Scotland app. The onboarding process for Android users includes information about the use of location (it doesn’t use GPS), and the Android version of the app doesn’t have the same ‘tracing inactive’ feature that Apple phones does.

App users with Apple devices may receive weekly notifications referring to COVID-19 Exposure Logging. These messages are autogenerated by Apple iOS and do not form any part of operation of the Protect Scotland app.

They are not a close contact alert and do not require you to self-isolate.