Rebecca Judd has no time for so-called ‘anti-appers’ who refuse to download the COVIDSafe contact-tracing app due to privacy concerns.
On Friday, the model wife of AFL legend Chris Judd shared a powerful message on Instagram about the importance of the app, which has been downloaded by four million Australians since its launch on April 26.
She made two compelling arguments as to why her followers should register for the app in spite of fears over what might happen to their data.
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Taking a stand: Rebecca Judd (pictured) has no time for so-called ‘anti-appers’ who refuse to download the COVIDSafe contact-tracing app due to privacy concerns
Firstly, she stated that the app isn’t permanently installed on users’ phones and can be deleted after the pandemic is over.
Secondly – and this is perhaps the most persuasive argument of all in favour of downloading – she pointed out that other websites and apps have far more intrusive access to personal data than the government-developed COVIDSafe.
She wrote: ‘Just download the bloody app, people. You can delete it later.
‘Instagram, Facebook, Google etc. know far more about you than the COVIDSafe app. Download it so we can all get back to business, school, seeing friends and family etc.’
Soapbox: On Friday, the wife of AFL legend Chris Judd (pictured together with their children, Oscar, Billie, Tom and Darcy) shared a powerful message on Instagram about the importance of the app, which has been downloaded by four million Australians since its launch on April 26
Valid points: ‘Just download the app, people. You can delete it later,’ she wrote. ‘Instagram, Facebook, Google etc. know far more about you than the COVIDSafe app. Download it so we can all get back to business, school, seeing friends and family etc’
It comes after Rebecca spoke with technology expert Trevor Long on the 3pm Pick-Up last Monday about privacy fears surrounding the COVIDSafe app.
Mr Long said: ‘It’s going to keep us all safe and it’s going to end this lockdown for us.
‘The app is completely safe to use. It is not tracking your location. In no way is it sharing information with the government in real time.’
Advice: Firstly, she stated that the app isn’t permanently installed on users’ phones and can be deleted after the pandemic is over. Pictured: a demonstration of the COVIDSafe app as seen at Parliament House in Canberra on April 26
Double standards? Secondly – and this is perhaps the most persuasive argument of all in favour of downloading – she pointed out that other websites and apps have far more intrusive access to personal data than the government-developed COVIDSafe. Pictured: Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and CEO of Facebook, which has been criticised for how it handles users’ data
Addressing security concerns, he added that it takes months to delete a Facebook profile, for example, whereas all the information gathered by the COVIDSafe app is stored on your phone and ‘when you delete the app, it’s gone’.
Only if you test positive for coronavirus and agree to the information in your phone being uploaded will the information be accessible to state or territory health officials.
These officials will then be able to advise people you have been in close contact with that they may need to quarantine or get tested.
The data will be deleted once the pandemic is over, Mr Long concluded.
Making progress: More than four million people have so far downloaded and registered for the contact-tracing app, but millions more need to follow suit before lockdowns can be lifted. Pictured: a woman using her mobile phone while walking at Bondi Beach on April 3
Rebecca agreed with the expert, saying that mass uptake of the voluntary app ‘is the fastest way out’ of lockdown.
‘We need to get people back in jobs. We need livelihoods back. We need to get the kids back to school,’ she said. ‘If we can all do it, then we’re out of this mess and life returns.’
More than four million people have so far downloaded and registered for the contact-tracing app.
Slowing the spread: Prime Minister Scott Morrison is pushing for 40 per cent of the population to sign up, which is the level government officials say is needed for the app to be effective
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy urged more to sign up last week, as the number of people on board is still not enough to make the scheme effective.
‘We need the app uptake to be higher before we can say that the final piece in the jigsaw puzzle of contact tracing is there,’ he said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said getting back to the pub and resuming everyday life depends on people signing up for the app.
Straight-talking: Morrison said last week that getting back to the pub and resuming everyday life depends on people signing up for the app. Pictured at Parliament House on Friday