Tracking the Outbreak and Far beyond: How Are Public Authorities Using Mobile Apps to Control Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19 brought tremendous challenges to the world during 2020. The consequences of the pandemic are still hard to estimate. However, the socio-economic crisis that hit every nation, from major developed economies to least developed countries is transversal and quite visible. Despite the existence of various context-specific approaches, there is a global effort that stands on three main areas: scientific research, ultimately focused on finding a cure or a vaccine; technological use to support social changes on domains like work, distance-learning or risk detection; and governmental measures promoting lockdown, isolation and safety practices. This research is focused on the use of technology to improve the response to the pandemic in a globalised network society by tracking patterns of interaction between people. The use of self-tracking apps has been pushed by various governments, raising concerns regarding surveillance, social control and data collection. We analyse through the walkthrough method a group of 13 mHealth apps that were supported by public authorities during 2020. Stemming from a critical sociological perspective of contemporary uses and consumptions of digital media, we gather data that promotes a deeper understanding of the role that this kind of apps has in normalising surveillance practices for political purposes and their potential impact in everyday life.