Downloads of Japan's COVID-19 tracing app slow to 7.7 mil

Not enough people are using it to be effective. Also, nobody here seems to care about the virus anyway. There is no concept of social distancing here, even in hospitals you'd expect some stricter protocols, nope. Everyone is bunched together even if there's room to spread out. Wearing a mask is only part of the solution to prevent the virus from spreading and I'm seeing more and more people wearing them wrong or not at all. The salaraymen in my building STILL DO NOT WASH THEIR HANDS.

Folks only want apps that entertain them, this app doesnt keep their attention glued long enough.

Put some anime characters in, make it "kawaii", use some girl idol group to promote it, and WHAM, it'll be a hit!

Not interested.

I am not within a meter of anyone for 15 minutes straight. Not even my wife.

I didn't know it existed until now. I just installed and activated it. Looks useful, although these days, I am not the only people I am in contact with for more than 15 minutes that are one meter away are my family, I think, but just in case...

You can find it even in the US iPhone App Store by searching Cocoa Japan and it comes up. When you turn it on, it gives you some strange notification about turning something on in terminal settings or something like that, but really you have to just quit the app and come back in and it works.

I wonder if this will be successful here. People will think it shares personal info, when it doesn't and in a country where people are generally shy about adding even a profile photo to social media or having public instagram accounts, would they take part in such a program? Plus if someone tests positive, if they were responsible enough to sign up for an app like this, would they also then spend a lot of time out in public? Hmm.

This App makes no sense, therefore people dont want to use it.

In my home country it is the same situation. Only 10% of the people are using this kind of App.

They should have added a link here, then maybe 7,700,001 people would be signed up!

It seems to me no one likes such tracing application software as well as my-number-card system.

I downloaded it in my phone and hubs’ phone, but like others have said, the 15 minute limit is toooooo long. All it takes is one cough, one sneeze, one weirdo jiichan standing close enough behind you to feel his breathing on you, to get it. I want the app to ding whenever I am by anyone who has been diagnosed with it the second my phone registers the other person’s info. Is it some sort of filtering of potentially unnecessary testing? Like, “hey, if they’re by someone who has it for at least 15 min then they DEFINITELY have it so we will have to test them”, but anything less and then it’s an “eh, maybe, but not 100% so no test for you” kind of situation?

Another one of Abefails.

Not interested.

I am not within a meter of anyone for 15 minutes straight. Not even my wife.

Are you ok, George?

Read somewhere that 44M yen was used to develop this app. In theory it could be useful but if positive test patients don’t register, (only 27 people that tested positive have registered themselves). Complete waste of time folks unless all positive cases are entered.

How many people that are positive are actually going to input that they are positive? When they don't, the app is useless. So then we have thousands of people walking around with no "hits" but it's just more skewed numbers.

The problem is that registration is biased, the people that register are those that take proper care and are aware that anybody can get infected, so they are less likely than average to get the disease. They have the app but don't test positive.

On the other hand the people that do risky activities and don't take proper care because they don't give importance to the disease or feel they can't get it are not going to install the app either. They test positive but they don't have to app.

Its amazing the number of people who signed up to be traced. I wonder if they ever wonder why freedom is eroding so quickly?

Maybe if there was monetary compensation for using the app.

I think they should put it on wearables like Singapore. These would be more useful as many people use them these days. I don’t carry my phone all the time, so pointless to have it on a phone.

I installed the app. The concept is great, but unless all infected actually use it and have their results registered, it won't work as well as originally intended. the best way to protect yourself drom the virus are hand washing, social distance and masks, anyway.

@zato. I presume you live in selfish Tokyo. In Kansai, everybody follows the rules inspired by paranoia.

i feel safe.

@marble.

you forgot twice daily temperature checks, smell and taste tests, body health check and any unusual rash.

Otherwise, yo da man.

Well, they aren't testing anyone in my city, so no one would get a positive test result to add to the app. Totally pointless. I've just been washing my hands every hour, wearing a mask, checking my temperature, and staying as far away from others as possible.

Simple solution. Give me another 100000 yen and I'll install the app.

...because avoiding a potentially deadly disease isn't adequate incentive, you mean?

Been avoiding it so far living in the countryside.

Its amazing the number of people who signed up to be traced. I wonder if they ever wonder why freedom is eroding so quickly?

Because they let fear guide them and not common sense.

One didn't need to be rocket scientist to know that the app would be a total failure, low testing =low positives =low hits and to add insult to injury, registration is left to the person testing positive. With the widespread discrimination those testing positive face it is no brainer than a large majority won't register,

As long as it relies on voluntary registration by those who test positive, it is basically useless.

this life saving app not going to save you what a waste of tax payers money.