<s>
COVID	B-Application
Tracker	I-Application
Ireland	I-Application
is	O
a	O
digital	B-Protocol
contact	I-Protocol
tracing	I-Protocol
app	O
released	O
by	O
the	O
Irish	O
Government	O
and	O
the	O
Health	O
Service	O
Executive	O
on	O
7	O
July	O
2020	O
to	O
prevent	O
the	O
spread	O
of	O
COVID-19	O
in	O
Ireland	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	O
uses	O
ENS	B-Application
and	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
technology	I-Protocol
to	O
determine	O
whether	O
a	O
user	O
have	O
been	O
a	O
close	O
contact	O
of	O
someone	O
for	O
more	O
than	O
15	O
minutes	O
who	O
tested	O
positive	O
for	O
COVID-19	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
process	O
of	O
the	O
COVID	O
Tracker	O
app	O
began	O
on	O
22	O
March	O
2020	O
when	O
the	O
Health	O
Service	O
Executive	O
(	O
HSE	O
)	O
contacted	O
Waterford	O
tech	O
company	O
NearForm	O
to	O
build	O
a	O
contact	B-Application
tracing	I-Application
app	I-Application
for	O
Ireland	O
using	O
existing	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
technology	I-Protocol
in	O
smartphones	O
to	O
support	O
contact	O
tracing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NearForm	O
was	O
originally	O
working	O
on	O
a	O
centralised	O
app	O
that	O
would	O
group	O
users	O
 '	O
data	O
together	O
for	O
authorities	O
to	O
study	O
,	O
but	O
in	O
May	O
2020	O
,	O
the	O
development	O
team	O
contacted	O
Apple	O
and	O
Google	B-Application
to	O
secure	O
beta	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
Exposure	B-Application
Notifications	I-Application
System	I-Application
(	O
ENS	B-Application
)	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
two	O
companies	O
,	O
which	O
allows	O
the	O
COVID	O
Tracker	O
app	O
to	O
guarantee	O
the	O
anonymity	O
of	O
users	O
and	O
ensure	O
any	O
data	O
transfer	O
to	O
contact	O
tracers	O
would	O
happen	O
only	O
with	O
user	O
consent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
three	O
months	O
of	O
development	O
,	O
the	O
team	O
had	O
a	O
secure	O
,	O
tested	O
and	O
reliable	O
contact	B-Application
tracing	I-Application
app	I-Application
that	O
worked	O
and	O
was	O
ready	O
to	O
be	O
deployed	O
on	O
a	O
national	O
scale	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
NearForm	O
have	O
made	O
the	O
app	O
source-code	O
freely	O
available	O
under	O
the	B-License
MIT	I-License
License	I-License
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
19	O
October	O
,	O
the	O
COVID	O
Tracker	O
app	O
became	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
wave	O
of	O
national	O
apps	O
linked	O
with	O
other	O
countries	O
across	O
the	O
European	O
Union	O
after	O
being	O
linked	O
with	O
similar	O
contact	B-Application
tracing	I-Application
apps	I-Application
from	O
Italy	O
and	O
Germany	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
COVID	O
Tracker	O
app	O
uses	O
Bluetooth	B-General_Concept
Low	I-General_Concept
Energy	I-General_Concept
and	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
and	O
Apple	O
's	O
Exposure	B-Application
Notifications	I-Application
System	I-Application
to	O
generate	O
anonymous	O
IDs	O
to	O
log	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	O
requires	O
users	O
to	O
turn	O
on	O
the	O
Exposure	B-Application
Notifications	I-Application
service	O
and	O
will	O
only	O
be	O
available	O
to	O
those	O
with	O
phones	O
running	O
Android	B-Application
6.0	I-Application
Marshmallow	I-Application
or	O
higher	O
,	O
or	O
iOS	B-Operating_System
13.5	I-Operating_System
or	O
higher	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
18	O
July	O
2020	O
,	O
researchers	O
at	O
Trinity	O
College	O
,	O
Dublin	O
issued	O
a	O
report	O
claiming	O
user	O
privacy	O
is	O
not	O
protected	O
adequately	O
in	O
the	O
COVID	O
Tracking	O
app	O
if	O
used	O
with	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
Services	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
report	O
shows	O
how	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
Services	I-Application
used	O
on	O
Android	B-Application
devices	O
sends	O
highly	O
sensitive	O
personal	O
data	O
to	O
Google	B-Application
servers	I-Application
every	O
20	O
minutes	O
including	O
users	O
 '	O
IMEI	O
,	O
hardware	O
serial	O
number	O
,	O
SIM	O
serial	O
number	O
,	O
handset	O
phone	O
number	O
and	O
a	O
Gmail	B-Application
address	O
,	O
which	O
potentially	O
allows	O
for	O
IP	O
address-based	O
location	B-Application
tracking	I-Application
of	O
the	O
phone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
9	O
August	O
2020	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
HSE	O
was	O
working	O
with	O
Google	B-Application
to	O
identify	O
and	O
fix	O
phone	O
battery	O
issues	O
after	O
the	O
COVID	O
Tracker	O
app	O
was	O
reportedly	O
draining	O
Android	B-Application
users	O
 '	O
batteries	O
in	O
5	O
hours	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
10	O
August	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
that	O
10%	O
of	O
Android	B-Application
users	O
(	O
86,000	O
)	O
uninstalled	O
the	O
app	O
,	O
following	O
battery	O
drainage	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
11	O
August	O
,	O
the	O
HSE	O
announced	O
that	O
an	O
update	O
had	O
been	O
rolled	O
out	O
to	O
70%	O
of	O
Android	B-Application
phones	I-Application
,	O
which	O
is	O
expected	O
to	O
fix	O
the	O
issue	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
45,000	O
people	O
had	O
reinstalled	O
the	O
app	O
in	O
the	O
last	O
few	O
days	O
.	O
</s>
