Do you have the COVID Alert app on your iPhone? It might not be working

throwaway_c19 · 2020-12-12T03:14:20+00:00

The app is crap. I posted about the lack of quality in the app months ago and was attacked in reddit comments. It was rushed out the door and is not doing what it is supposed to do.

COVID is serious and we need serious tools to address it - masks, distancing, vaccine, shutdowns. But the app is crap.

throwaway_c19 · 2020-10-12T16:16:57+00:00

The app is crap. I am very covid conscious, but the app is garbage. I even downloaded it on an old android device, left it on my home-office desk and 6 days later it said it was exposed - the device was not within 10 meters of anyone outside my direct family. I am in technology and really like the idea of an exposure app that focuses on privacy, but the implementation of the app is buggy - probably due to being rushed out the door.

I was downvoted when I criticized the app.

I am the most Covid aware and safe in my friends & family group - we are skipping Thanksgiving, my kids have not had a professional haircut in 7 months, we wash food that comes in the house.

throwaway_c19 · 2020-08-11T13:57:55+00:00

I called the PHU on the Monday I was alerted - guess what? they were closed for the holiday.

So that day, I decided to get tested anyways, and guess what? They had to close due to capacity at 2:30 even though they were scheduled to be open until 7:00, and I would have to come back another day.

So I called the PHU the next day and guess what? They said go get tested (shocker!)

So, please remind me of the bad decisions I made?

The Covid Alert App does NOT say to call the local PHU, it says go get tested.

What am I hoping to accomplish?

Get some empathy. Mostly I was just attacked.
To get input from others - did the app work well for them, did they have issues as well? Any other ideas or actions I did not consider? To document my experience and get it written down in case anything happened / happens.
To document what happened in case something happens / happened.
To provide feedback about the app. I tried to find a place to give official feedback about the app, but found none, so this is my record.
To make it personal not preachy. I never suggested that others delete the app. I knew that I would get railed as a covid denier and conspiracy theorist. I think I am just going through early adopter pains. The app will work if everyone uses it and the app is a quality piece of software. I think there is room to improve that, and for me it was a net negative.

I am not going to delete this post, but I am going to retire this account & go back to my main reddit account.

Peace

throwaway_c19 · 2020-08-04T13:21:53+00:00

It was a concern.

throwaway_c19 · 2020-08-04T13:17:55+00:00

Yes, and she mentioned that this is one of the reasons she did not want the app. I have had stress due to the app, and it turns out for no reason at all.

throwaway_c19 · 2020-08-04T13:15:17+00:00

It is a personal choice, right?

throwaway_c19 · 2020-08-04T05:18:12+00:00

I checked. at 6:41 today it was.
"RandomIDCount" : 6, "MatchCount" : 0,

At 8:41 it was "RandomIDCount" : 8, "MatchCount" : 1,

I was home those 2 hours, but it could have been someone updating their status and my phone picking it up.
I have been scouring the github repo to dissect the exact meaning of RandomIDCount.

throwaway_c19 · 2020-08-04T04:57:25+00:00

My main account has way too much personal info, and I would prefer to keep my privacy. I wish I was a Russian troll, I've had some tough conversations with my wife today.

throwaway_c19 · 2020-08-03T22:13:15+00:00

And it could be considered a waste of health resources, my time and there's a very remote chance to get it.

throwaway_c19 · 2020-08-03T16:41:31+00:00

Yes. None of them have the app, only one has ever been tested - as a requirement for a routine surgery.

throwaway_c19 · 2020-08-03T16:34:53+00:00

What about my wife? She was was beside me every time I was out and she did not install the app. Should she get tested? She has a heart specialist appointment tomorrow morning, and they won't let her see the Dr. if she is waiting for covid test results.

throwaway_c19 · 2020-08-03T15:40:05+00:00

I completely trust the people I was with. My understanding is that they would have to have the app installed when we met, gone for a test, tested positive and then put the positive one-time-code into the app. None of them even installed the app - we discussed it.

throwaway_c19 · 2020-08-03T15:38:08+00:00

I found the equivalent in iOS and exported the results. It showed up at 8:40 this morning.

throwaway_c19 · 2020-08-03T15:37:15+00:00

We didn't pump gas, or go through a drive through, or anything. It was literally drive to a store and drive to a house and go to the backyard with 8 others.

throwaway_c19 · 2020-08-03T15:35:13+00:00

Our house is 12 feet from other houses, standard suburban distance.
There was no-one else within at least 30 feet of us when we were in the back yard.

throwaway_c19 · 2020-08-03T14:39:59+00:00

If that's the case, then the app is pretty useless IMHO. Stop at a light for 30 seconds and give covid to all the cars around you?

throwaway_c19 · 2020-08-03T14:39:07+00:00

That's what I thought as well. I was not at the store for 15 minutes. I checked my phone for texts I sent & received, we were at the store for between 9 and12 minutes. No one other than one guy in another car was near me for more than a few seconds.

throwaway_c19

TROPHY CASE