In the UK, the rollout of the track and trace service has been riddled with delays and mishaps, which coupled with the erosion of trust prompted by the use of data firm Palantir, whose link with the Cambridge Analytica scandal has done so much to damage faith in government’s use of data, has prompted so many Brits to reject the use of any app that is eventually rolled out.

New research from Lancaster University urges the government to gain a better understanding of public priorities before any subsequent roll out.

Interestingly, whereas the popular perception is that privacy is the number one consideration among the public when using track and trace apps, the researchers find that this is only true for a certain section of the public, with many others placing greater importance on other factors, such as ease and convenience of use.

Societal benefits

The most effective way to encourage adoption of the app appeared to be by promoting the wider societal benefits of using it, with this proving to be more effective than focusing on the benefits to the user’s own health.  It suggests that governments should play on the altruism of citizens rather than their self interest.

“More than half of the population must install and actively use the app in order for it to be effective,” the researchers say. “In light of the urgency of the situation, and the fact the government will roll it out voluntarily, getting a true understanding of how to get the masses to accept – and crucially, use – one single app, is the most important consideration for developers.”

As it’s impossible for a single app to please all of us, it will instead be crucial that the app developers are able to understand what the majority of the country think about the technology in order for adoption to be high enough.

The research saw volunteers presented with different versions of a fictitious app to gauge their response to the design and functionality of the app.  The results suggest users fit into one of three groups: critics, advocates, and the undecided, each of which have differing propensities towards the app, and each valuing it in different ways.

“For the critics and undecided amongst participants, privacy was a top consideration – but did not sway the advocates of a tracing app,” the researchers say. “Crucially, we found messaging around the app protecting the user’s own health were either ineffective or, in some cases, counterproductive. To achieve mass acceptance, our results suggest that communication strategies should solely focus on societal benefits such as ‘download the app and help to keep the population safe.’ “

Participants that were undecided were more swayed to download and use the app if it was presented as something convenient to use, whereas this was not a strong consideration for other groups.