Gosh this COVID-19 app discourse is something else. Yes, whoever can should be downloading it. It's not out to steal your data and has strong privacy protections in place. However, it's important to think of equity as we observe and evaluate the roll out of this app.

With any and all tech centered public policy solutions, there's always issues of equity and inclusivity. Access to smart phones, internet plans, the latest software/OS are all barriers for something like this to work properly as mass use is critical to its success.

Many have called out the app's phone compatibility issues, and rightfully so. Apparently the privacy features are only feasible on newer OS, but it's still a much needed discussion. This is not a reason to not download the app, but understand its limitations when assessing it.

Read below:

https://www.cp24.com/news/canada-s-new-covid-app-won-t-work-on-older-iphones-android-devices-1.5049400

In the effort to try and race to a solution, we have once again left marginalized folks out of the scope of discussion. Read @biancawylie + @seanmcdonald dig deeper on this in a @PolicyResponse piece: https://policyresponse.ca/hard-questions-for-policy-makers-about-digital-contact-tracing/

"We know apps introduce bias through adoption. A number of civic technologies have proven that they tend to amplify the voices of those who are already connected. Here, those digital divides are not only matters of equity, they’re matters of mortality."

Privacy, effectiveness, and equity are not mutually exclusive unless we force it to be. This is not a failure of the app itself but the policy thinking that went into building this app.