As COVID-19 spikes once more in cities around the U.S., a wave of contact-tracing smartphone apps is rolling through states to provide an additional tool in curbing the pandemic.

The state this month launched a mobile app, COVID Alert PA, that uses Bluetooth technology to trace those who may have been exposed to the coronavirus. It’s a worthwhile effort that Pennsylvanians should consider downloading to better protect themselves and others.

The Irish developer NearForm designed the app using technology developed by Apple and Google. User information is not stored in a central location due to privacy concerns.

Virginia, North Dakota, Wyoming and the University of Arizona have already developed apps, and Pennsylvania’s app works with other states’ apps — like Delaware — that employ the same technology.

It’s too soon to know whether the tech is effective, but the app can be useful only if a significant number of people actually use it.

Some European countries have already scrapped contact tracing apps due to low adoption rates, but smaller countries like Finland and Ireland have seen strong success.

Public trust in government is a key factor in whether the app is adopted, as privacy concerns remain top of mind in an age of data breaches.

Trust in the government is in short supply for many in Pennsylvania, but if enough residents actively download the app it could yet prove effective in monitoring and controlling the spread of COVID-19.

The app lets users know if they came in “close contact” — defined as within 6 feet for 15 or more minutes — with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 sometime in the previous 14 days. It will also maintain a dashboard of information on case counts, hospitalizations and deaths, and a daily symptom tracker.

App users’ identities will be encrypted with frequently changing anonymous identifier beacons, according to the companies.

And Allegheny County Health Department Director Dr. Debra Bogen said privacy concerns have been addressed. Health officials said the state can only see how many people total have uploaded the app; how many people who activated the app have uploaded a six-digit code the Health Department gave them if they have a positive test; and how many people were identified as a close contact.

The app will not say who the COVID-19-positive person was or where the contact occurred.

There are stumbling blocks. The age group in greatest danger of significant illness from the virus — the elderly — is the least likely to adopt the technology. And asking residents to self-report any health information has an ominous ring of Big Brother.

Then again, cases are spreading and deaths continue to mount. Pennsylvanians should use the technology and provide another arrow to the Health Department’s quiver.

And given the privacy protections on the data, what do you have to lose?

First Published: September 24, 2020, 10:00 a.m.