Coronavirus NHS app: Government will 'keep all options under review' amid rumours it could change technology

UK's commitment to centralised technology has come under criticism for privacy and security problems

The government says it will “keep all options under review” amid suggestions the technology underpinning the NHS‘s coronavirus response could change.

The statement comes amid ongoing rumours that the app could move towards a different model that is already being tested.

Unlike most other countries, the UK’s contact-tracing app uses a centralised model, where information about its users is stored on one server, controlled by the NHS. Officials have said that it will improve the utility of the app since the data will be available to researchers who can track the spread of the disease

That has meant that it has been unable to make use of Apple and Google’s contact-tracing technology, which requires a decentralised model, in an attempt to preserve the privacy of users. Without the support of the makers of the operating systems, the app is limited by restrictions in the software that mean that users are forced to keep reopening the app if it is to properly track them.

The UK’s decision to use a different technology to many other countries – including Ireland – has also led to worries that the app would not be able to sufficiently work internationally, and so would not offer an effective way of allowing people to safely travel.

NHSX, the organisation which is creating the app, said that it has found ways to work around the restrictions found in Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android, and that the app will continue to work despite those limitations. But the Financial Times has reported a feasibility study is also underway to see if it would be possible to create a new version of the app that uses the decentralised model.

Any new app would be forced to drop the centralised model that has been defended by both NHSX and members of the government. But it could also offer a way around many of the technical and privacy questions that have surrounded the release of the app so far.

Asked about reports of an alternative app, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “The position is the same as yesterday, which is we’ve set out our plans for a centralised model and that’s what we’re taking forward but we will keep all options under review to make the app is effective as possible.”

Asked whether the government was confident the app is working, he said: “The point of the trial is to see if issues arise. I think the health secretary has set out that that is the purpose of the pilot – that some issues may come up. Then you use the pilot to iron them out.”