Security News > 2021 > April > Apple and Google block official UK COVID-19 app update

An iPhone and Android app called NHS COVID-19 is the official iPhone and Android coronavirus contact tracing software for the vast majority of the population of Great Britain.

Apparently, the government was keen to have an updated version of the NHS COVID-19 app ready in time, with added location tracking features that would allow users to share their location logs with the health service.

According to the BBC this new version was blocked by both Apple and Google, and won't be available either in the App Store or through Google Play.

An app that contains code that tries to use both the Location permission and the Exposure Notification permission is not only clearly non-compliant but also easy for Apple's and Google's app verification systems to detect automatically.

There's not much point in worrying about a government app that might ask you if you want to share personal tracking data with your health service.

If you are going to let other apps read your location in detail whenever they like, including apps with names such as Totally Not Free Fleeceware Compass App That Is Inferior To The Builtin One Yet Costs $149.99 After Three Days Even If You Uninstall It After Just Three Minutes In Frustration At How Useless It Is. Fleeceware, by the way, is the name we use to describe apps that that you almost certainly want to stay away from because they are designed to seduce you, often with exaggerated claims and hundreds or thousands of fake 5-star reviews, into signing up for a short "Free" trial that automatically rolls over into a paid subscription after as little as 48 hours if you aren't careful.

News URL

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2021/04/12/apple-and-google-block-official-uk-covid-19-app-update/