there will always be a trade-off between the common good and civil liberties in a time of crisis but questioned the efficacy of governments forcing citizens into using apps, as they may rebel and stop using their phones. 

In Singapore, the government has asked citizens to opt in to its system and European governments including Germany have stressed that the use of tracking and tracing apps must be done on a voluntary basis

Germany’s Robert Koch Institut has introduced an app, developed with Berlin digital health group Thryve,which links to fitness bands and smartwatches. It says the app will help it map the spread of Covid-19 by monitoring anonymised data for signs of infection including a user’s resting pulse, sleep and activity levels, which tend to alter significantly in the case of acute respiratory problems

Many of these issues come to a head with the health apps which have been widely used in Asia and are gradually being introduced in Europe to track an individual’s health status. 

In the US, the Federal Communications Commission last month fined the four largest industry players a combined $208m over the historic sale of location data to third parties without the explicit consent of users. 

However, he says there are apps that help citizens choose which data they share, leading to a more efficient tracking of the virus. “If people can decide themselves if they want to participate or not, then we have privacy-friendly alternatives. That’s a game changer.”

I am worried that we will accept state surveillance during the health crisis but that it will then take years in court to get rid of it.”

Spain’s far-right Vox party has urged people to turn off their mobile data, reflecting the anger over government intrusion on their privacy.

Some researchers are not convinced by the claim that such data sets are completely anonymous.

Still, assurances from officials and industry executives have done little to appease anxiety that privacy rights could be brushed aside as governments seek to use tools of mass surveillance in their efforts to combat the virus.

such as whether someone has coronavirus and has shared that on social media or searched on Google for symptoms, is not legally accessible under GDPR by a telecoms provider. 

European telecoms companies remain adamant that the information that has been provided to governments is anonymised and aggregated

We have seen how aggregated data can check the spread of disease in Africa. We’re now using the same insights to understand and combat the spread of Covid-19 in Europe

Telefónica, Spain’s national carrier which owns networks across Latin America, has developed expertise working with companies like Facebook to use data to deal with natural disasters such as earthquakes

The use of location data to track the disease has been applied in Italy, Spain, Norway and Belgium, with the UK, Portugal and Greece set to follow.In cities such as Madrid and Milan, telecoms operators have created heat maps that show how restrictions on movement are working and what effect the presence of police on the streets is having on behaviour. 

“We trust Uber to know everywhere we go, we trust Gmail with everything we write. If we don’t trust the NHS with our health data then who do we trust?”

China and Israel have also used personal telecoms data to trace coronavirus patients and their contacts

But the use of such data to track the virus has triggered fears of growing surveillance, including questions about how the data might be used once the crisis is over and whether such data sets are ever truly anonymous. 

With much of Europe at a standstill as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, politicians want the telecoms operators to provide similar data from smartphones

Understanding how diseases and pathogens flow through populations using mobile phone data is vital.”

Working together with researchers at Southampton university, Vodafone began compiling sets of location data from mobile phones in the areas where cases of the disease had been recorded

When the World Health Organization launched a 2007 initiative to eliminate malaria on Zanzibar, it turned to an unusual source to track the spread of the disease between the island and mainland Africa

Mapping how populations move between locations has proved invaluable in tracking and responding to epidemics