CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. (WLVT) — Within the first day and a half of its release the state-issued COVID Alert PA app was downloaded over 70,000 times.
April Hutcheson, spokeswoman for the state Department of Health (DOH), says the app keeps user identity anonymous.
"We wanted to make sure we found an app that didn’t use GPS," Hutcheson told PBS39. "We wanted to make sure Pennsylvanians' privacy is protected. This app puts control in Pennsylvanians hands. We’re excited that we can use something we all carry daily with us, to let people know if they’ve been exposed to COVID."
The state has allocated $2 million in federal grant money for the app. The money is being used to deploy and maintain the app with software developer NearForm. If COVID is no longer a public health crisis in less than 30 months, DOH says the funds will no longer be spent on the app.
"So it’s not $1.9 million now, it’s spread out over the next 30 months," Hutcheson said. "It cost us about $220,000 to produce this app."
Users who download the app will be alerted if they spent 15 minutes or more near someone who tested positive. Colm Harte, technical director at NearForm, explained how the app works.
"We’re using Bluetooth to determine proximity between two phones," Harte told PBS39. "The way that works is, your phone is always broadcasting an anonymous identifier, as are other people’s phones. The app then maintains a log of those identifiers. All of that information stays on your phone. It’s not transmitted back to the Pennsylvania health department, Apple, Google, or anybody else. When someone tests positive for COVID-19, they’re asked to upload their random ID to a server. They’re sent an SMS with a six-digit code to put into the app. They’re unique identifiers are then sent to the server."
The app will also work with states surrounding Pennsylvania. Delaware launched its NearForm app last week.
"If I travel to Delaware, my app will work there," Hutcheson explained. "Eventually, it will work in New Jersey and New York."
She highlighted a number of in-app features.
"Of course the exposure notification, which lets me know if I’ve come into contact with someone who tested positive, is the most important thing," she said. "But we also built in a symptom tracker that you can go in and use every day, to see how you’re feeling. You have information in the palm of your hand to see what’s happening on a county basis, and also statewide."
Philadelphia resident Kimberly Schoolfield was pinged within a few hours of downloading the app.
"I got pinged! It said three people were positive," Schoolfield told PBS39. "I don't even know the people. Staying informed is important to me because I want to know where the high-risk areas are so that I can stay away from them, whether it’s a supermarket, a doctor’s office or a restaurant."
Jamie Weber, who runs Flanigan’s Boathouse in Conshohocken, says she’s not sure if she’ll give the app a shot.
"I’m personally not very tech-savvy, so I’d need some guidance to download it," Weber told PBS39. "I’d like to wait until it’s out a little bit longer and see if they test it a little more."
Conshohocken resident Karen Little says she’d prefer to not know if she’s near someone who tested positive.
"I probably won’t download it," Little said. "I’m fortunately very healthy and I’m not necessarily afraid of it. I want to keep living life as best as I can, and I think this will make people more afraid."
She says if she found out that she was near someone who received a ping on their phone — she wouldn’t panic.
"I’d probably keep shopping," she said.
COVID Alert PA is available in Apple and Google app stores and is free to download.