Covid tracker app users report mostly positive experience, despite battery issues

Covid Tracker app users thought it handled data protection and transparency aspects well. File photo: Niall Carson/PA

The HSE's Covid tracker app could be improved by having notifications which prompt users to submit a daily health status update, according to a new study.

The study, carried out by a team of researchers from University of Limerick, University College Cork and NUI Galway, analysed 1,287 user reviews from the Google/Apple playstores "to identify the aspects of the app that users focused on, and the positive/negative sentiment expressed".

It found that while there was a largely positive sentiment towards the app, and users thought it handled data protection and transparency aspects well, people wanted more targeted feedback on the incidence of the virus, and facilities for more proactive engagement, like notifications that prompt users to submit their health status daily.

The “android battery” issue, where users found their battery drained rapidly, was also raised, as well as the backward-compatibility issue with iPhones which seriously impacted retention/uptake of the app.

"Most of the 'negative' comments were aimed at performance and usability," the study said.

However, overall the view from users was largely supportive and in many cases people were impressed by the idea of the app and its execution. Some of those who offered a review even offered potential ideas for further development. 

According to the study: 

An interesting idea that arose in two reviews was that the app should also report on the number of close contacts users had per day, where the user could get daily feedback and thus try to minimize that 'score' over time. 

"This is analogous to the gamification concept of 'streaks' where a user might aim to keep their number of close contacts below a certain daily threshold, over time, and thus continue their 'streak'."

Newer versions of the app have already tweaked its performance and according to the study, which has been published in the Irish Journal of Medical Science: "The actual findings of this research suggest that the contact tracing apps, which are largely passive in nature should have proactive notifications, and that they should provide timely and detailed disease-spread information to the users, to keep those users more engaged."