The app

[jetjr]

The govt or Amazon have no data from you or about you unless someone sends it to them and to do that require a code from positive test.

The bluetooth info on your phone - people youve been near for 15min - is deleted after 28 ?? days

Think about it, unless you are the one sending the data pack - youve just tested positive - theres SFA chance they can track you further than 1 contact.

We are all still supposed to be 1.5m apart and not in contact or sharing anything.

It could help identify where transfers are happening and what things need to remain restricted, Havent heard of Bunnings or Woolies transfers yet and they are full with people for last 4 weeks

[red750]

Some people are soshul meja junkies. I know one person who posts to fb every time they sneeze, break wind or get a headache, or anything else.

[facthunter]

And it's not just themselves they talk about. There's fortunes made in selling on this information. This is where the real money and POWER is. You can get a government elected (installed).knowing what people do when and where. Nev

[Yenn]

I would probably download the app if I had a mobile phone that downloaded apps, but even then it probably wouldn't work, because reception is poor in the places I go.

[facthunter]

I know the feeling. I get a poor reception in a lot of places I go also.. Nev

[tillmanr]

Hey folks, lose a little privacy and bring on easing of the Covid19 restrictions as it seems to be tied together by the PM. Sign up and then delete it if that concerns you.

[octave]

So the app has been reverse engineered. For those who interested in the details.

 

COVIDSafe - Initial Analysis

 

Being in a vulnerable category my self interest in knowing as soon as possible outweighs any paranoa I may have. But even more important than that is what I would see as my duty to protect others.

 

Consider the 11 deaths at Newmarch House which started when a nurse with mild symptoms worked for 6 days. Had there been wide spread use of the app just maybe this would have been detected. Other than the deaths I am sure this has ruined this nurses life.

 

Sometimes we are called upon to make some kind of sacrifice for the good of the country or others. As far as sacrifices go, unless I am missing something this is not huge. No one here has yet to put forward practical a negative consequences of using this app.

 

I do understand that it is important to be ever vigilant against creeping surveillance but this seems like a pidlling example compared other things we routinely do.

 

It is of course up to everyone to make their own rational decision but for me other than self interest, if I can do something which could help others and if the price of doing this is not catastrophic, then this is what I will do.

[facthunter]

Why has the "promised" source code not become available.? Because of past performances like robodebt in particular, this government has earned a trust deficit. Nev

[KRviator]

IF that analysis is accurate, then it flies in the face of what the Government has been telling us about how the app works. They have so far made it sound like your phone number is only sent to them following a positive test and after said 'victim' uploads their BT data - but here, the reverse engineering is saying that you need to upload your phone number just to register your own version of the app on your own phone in order to receive a PIN to continue the registration process.

 

When registering for COVIDSafe the user must provide a phone number, name (or a pseudonym), age-range, and postcode. This data is then sent to AWS servers in Australia and a One Time PIN is sent to the user via SMS to confirm details.

 

That right there is enough to turn me off ever installing it.

[Downunder]

Now Morrison is blackmailing the public. Download app OR restrictions will not be reduced....

[octave]

IF that analysis is accurate, then it flies in the face of what the Government has been telling us about how the app works. They have so far made it sound like your phone number is only sent to them following a positive test and after said 'victim' uploads their BT data - but here, the reverse engineering is saying that you need to upload your phone number just to register your own version of the app on your own phone in order to receive a PIN to continue the registration process.

 

 

 

That right there is enough to turn me off ever installing it.

So what do you fear could happen to you if you download it?

[Thruster88]

IF that analysis is accurate, then it flies in the face of what the Government has been telling us about how the app works. They have so far made it sound like your phone number is only sent to them following a positive test and after said 'victim' uploads their BT data - but here, the reverse engineering is saying that you need to upload your phone number just to register your own version of the app on your own phone in order to receive a PIN to continue the registration process.

 

 

 

That right there is enough to turn me off ever installing it.

 

How many gov departments would already have your phone # and address along with all the non gov like RAA.

 

I would not get bent out of shape because a poli can't explain the app, it would be above their pay grade.

[Flightrite]

I see two choices, you either download the App or you don't, it's volentary , no one has to explain why or why not, this is not a communist country!

[octave]

I see two choices, you either download the App or you don't, it's volentary , no one has to explain why or why not, this is not a communist country!

 

Yes it is and should be voluntary. No one does have to explain why or why not although the original poster posed the question "have you downloaded and why or why not" I don't think the question is out of line and it is not mandatory to take part in the conversation.

[Thruster88]

Asked our 22yo uni student if she had installed the app, no, because of privacy, poor sell job and no active cases now in the ACT. I can't see it getting to 40%.

[Methusala]

Morrison govt refuses to put ministers on the mat for any transgression. Hide behind a compliant AFP or blatently tough it out knowing the 24/7 media will move on. Trust them at their word? I dont think so.

[kgwilson]

I really can't understand the problem. People cite privacy but can't explain what that means to them. If you own a smartphone you will have a number of apps pre installed by the manufacturer as well as a number installed by the Telco if you buy one from them & then the phone is locked to that Telco unless you are able to obtain the IMEI unlock code. Most of these apps have access to your Contacts, Gallery, Location and even call history. Apps that you download yourself will specify what they need access to. This is a requirement if the App is to be available from Apple App Store or Google Play. You can turn location off at any time so you are not tracked by satellite. You can not stop being tracked by your Telco so long as you have the phone turned on or you take the SIM card out.

 

If this app wanted access to your location I would have been sceptical but it doesn't, it only needs access to Bluetooth which is a just a wireless communication protocol with a short range of up to 100 metres for class 1 devices & 10 meters for class 2. Most devices & phones use class 2 because class 1 consumes 40 fold more power. When you register the app you have to provide your phone number and a name. Your phone number is not private anyway and you can provide any name you like.

 

If you have an older phone the app is unlikely to work. If it is just a mobile phone without smart features you won't be able to download this or any other app.

 

One of the reasons it won't gain much traction with the most vulnerable demographic is many have phones but don't even know how to download apps. Another is they don't go to many places where there a lots of people and when they do they either don't take the phone or leave it in the car. Yet another is poor or no reception where they live of visit.

[aro]

IF that analysis is accurate, then it flies in the face of what the Government has been telling us about how the app works. They have so far made it sound like your phone number is only sent to them following a positive test and after said 'victim' uploads their BT data - but here, the reverse engineering is saying that you need to upload your phone number just to register your own version of the app on your own phone in order to receive a PIN to continue the registration process.

 

Only the identification codes of your bluetooth contacts are sent to them, if you test positive. They need the phone number to translate those codes into a number they can call.

 

The government already knows your phone number, but obviously the app doesn't extract it from your phone. That is a good thing.

 

The government can also track your location via your phone. That is not new.

 

People have reverse engineered at least the Android version of the app, and it is what they said it is. Reverse engineering and monitoring the actions of the app are better than source code anyway. If you don't trust the government, why would you trust that provided source code was an accurate reflection of what was running anyway?

 

There is a ridiculous level of paranoia going on with this app. What are we doing that is so important the government doesn't find out?

[FlyingVizsla]

Older people staying at home would have a good idea of who (if any) visited them.

 

The app is more use with mobile younger people who may be quite vague about who and where they have been over the past week.

[NT5224]

I don’t own a smart phone. Wouldn’t want one -and anyway no mobile coverage in our district.

 

Alan

[KRviator]

Only the identification codes of your bluetooth contacts are sent to them, if you test positive. They need the phone number to translate those codes into a number they can call.

That's what the Government has said, true - but that't not what the reverse engineering shows! And that is why I won't be downloading the app. They've told us one thing - that your details won't be sent to them unless someone you've been in contact with via BT has tested positive and uploaded their data to the server , but it would appear that is not true. You have to register your number in the app so they know who to call - fair enough, that is logical. But that number is sent to the server as part of the registration process.

 

The government already knows your phone number, but obviously the app doesn't extract it from your phone. That is a good thing. The government can also track your location via your phone. That is not new.

True, but there are specific powers in place to prevent that ability from being abused. Even if the AFP routinely ignore them....

 

People have reverse engineered at least the Android version of the app, and it is what they said it is.

But it isn't. It is mostly what they say it is, but the elephant in the coding is that I have not read anywhere that they admitted your phone number is sent to them prior to someone testing positive. IF I'm wrong about that and that has been published somewhere, I'll wear that, but as best I recall, they have been pushing the line that "Your details don't come to us until someone tests positive and they upload their data".

 

There is a ridiculous level of paranoia going on with this app. What are we doing that is so important the government doesn't find out?

It isn't about what we are doing, it is about the data being misused and/or hacked. This government - actually, most government's over the past 20 or so years - have proven they cannot be trusted, yet alone trusted to keep our data safe.

[octave]

Older people staying at home would have a good idea of who (if any) visited them.

 

The app is more use with mobile younger people who may be quite vague about who and where they have been over the past week.

 

Hopefully soon I will be able to go back to my favourite coffee shop If one of the other patrons should test positive then I can be notified and seek treatment early and also avoid passing it on to others. I would of course be aware of friends I had been in contact with but how could I know the patrons of the local cafe If we are to return to normality contact tracing will be crucial. Other countries are doing similar things and even using credit card transactions to locate people who may have come into contact with an infected person. I have many aps on my phone that require much more information.

[aro]

You are misunderstanding the design of the app and the reverse engineering.

 

There is no way they can collect your details at the time someone tests positive, because the app does not collect any details from your contacts other than the identification code. It is important that person running the app has no way to link the codes their app has collected to any individual, so it cannot collect e.g. a phone number. The contact tracers need to be able to tie the identification code to contact information, so you need to register the details up front. There is no other way to get it from the contact information collected.

 

This has always been the way it is designed to work and publicly described. What you are suggesting would involve less privacy, because your contacts would have to record your details on their phone and could theoretically access the information themselves.

 

The list of contacts (list of codes) is not sent until you test positive, so they can't do any large scale contact monitoring.

[turboplanner]

There is a ridiculous level of paranoia going on with this app. What are we doing that is so important the government doesn't find out?

Quite a bit actually it appears. Apart from some very telling posts on social media, people who deal in cash and don't pay their taxes have come very prominently to the surface, and I wouldn't be surprised if the ATO doesn't have a field day rounding them all up when this is over.

[facthunter]

Yeah, catch a few little fish and let the sharks swim freely. The BIG tax avoiders should pay also.The ATO is understaffed to do what it has to already. It failed dismally to work through the Algorithm based robo debt debacle. .Do you KNOW anyone who got caught up in that one, turbs? IF you do why would you trust this government with anything connected with IT.? Recall the Census also. Nev