A new poll suggests 60 PERCENT of Americans are unable or unwilling to use coronavirus-tracking apps enabled by Google and Apple
- A new poll from researchers casts doubt on COVID-tracking apps’ adoption
- Three out of five adults are unwilling or unable to use COVID-tracking apps
- Likelihood to adopt an app is related to if they consider the virus a threat
- Democrats were more likely to say they would use an app than Republicans
- Trust of Google and Apple was low among all respondents
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
A new poll shows that most Americans aren’t willing or can’t use apps designed to track the spread of COVID-19.
According to a recent survey by Washington Post-University of Maryland, three out of five Americans are either unable or unwilling to use contact tracing technology that uses a phone’s Bluetooth signal to track the spread of COVID-19.
The survey casts doubt on the efficacy of COVID-tracking technology being developed by Google and Apple for use by governments and health authorities.
Specifically, the companies are providing access to their application programming interfaces (APIs) so governments can interface with Google and Apple’s data banks and build out their own contact tracing apps.
Respondents to a recent survey say they are unable or unwilling to use coronavirus tracking apps enabled by technology from Google and Apple (stock)
While the technology could help monitor and track the spread of COVID-19, the recently conducted poll suggests that adoption could create an obstacle for its viability.
Among the barriers is the fact that one in six Americans does not own a smartphone, meaning they don’t have the means to use or contribute to virus-tracking technology.
Additionally, the poll which surveyed a little more than 1,000 adults mostly through mobile phone calls, suggests that willingness to use a contact tracing app among Americans with smart phones was split at about 50 percent with half of the respondents saying they ‘probably or definitely’ would not use a tracking app.
According to The Washington Post, the likelihood that one would use a tracking app is based partly on whether they consider the virus to be a threat to their safety.
Willingness to use a tracking app is also higher with Democrats who report being more worried about a COVID-19 infection than with Republicans who are less worried about being infected by the virus.
Respondents also noted a general distrust of big tech companies like Google and Apple who are providing the backbone for virus-tracking technology.
According to The Washington Post only 43 percent of respondents said they trusted Google and Apple while 57 percent said they had a ‘good deal’ of trust in public health agencies.
Contact tracing technology will be made available to governments earlier than previously expected according to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook (stock)
According to a separate study cited by The Washington Post, the tepid response to COVID-tracking technology could spell failure for apps.
A recent study by Oxford researchers suggests that 60 percent of a country’s population would need to adopt the technology in order for it to monitor the spread accurately.
Regardless of an eventual app’s efficacy, tech companies and governments plan to move forward with their plan to release an opt-in technology to the public imminently.
Last week, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook revealed in a call with European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton that technology to support contact tracing apps would be made available on April 28, which means that apps could be ready within the next week.