Daughter downloaded the app

[Pissedoff1234]

My 16 year old daughter has just downloaded the app. The first time she opened it, it said she had to self isolate.

She hasn't been out of the house since Wednesday. I'm very confused. I've had the app for ages and it's never notified me about anything and when I open it, it just says that it is active and scanning.

It needs a compatible app installed first before exposures are recorded. It records exposures via Bluetooth but only if both phones have the app installed.

It can’t log data before it is installed. Either it’s been on her phone for longer than she has told you or she’s told it she’s developed symptoms today. There are two possible reasons for it telling her to isolate 10 days from today. Either she was in close contact with a positive case 4 days ago, or she’s developed symptoms today. The only other possibility is some sort of bizarre glitch.

Is there not somewhere in the app that tells you when exposures were?

Why hasn't she been out since Wednesday?

"It only interacts app to app."

Or it interacts with the user. In this case the OPs daughter. 3 clicks and she's got herself an isolation notice.

Could it be related to the reason she hasn't left the house since Wednesday? Or am I the only suspicious one here?

Your phone logs the data whether you have the app or not. If you have iOS it's right there in your system settings (not sure where you'd find it on android).

No it doesn't. The ability to record exposures is there but doesn't switch on until you download a compatible app

Thinking more about this, a one off bug affecting your daughter’s phone that doesn’t appear to have been reported before or your daughter not wanting to go to school. She downloaded it on a Sunday night which is classic anxiety time for Monday morning.

I wonder if there’s more going on here than you know about.

Right here. It was included in an iOS update a while back.

@myhobbyisouting

Hmm, I'd be suspicious.

If you enter symptoms into the app it gives you a 10 day isolation notice. You then update that when you get your test.

You absolutely sure she's "devastated" at having to isolate?

She really doesn't want to be at home. She isn't allowed out for any other reason than to go to college and she is bored at home. They were asked to only go in to college for one day a week rather than the 2 days a week they were doing and she has begged and pleaded with her tutor to let her still go for the 2 days. I don't have any reason to suspect that she's lying. Now if it was my son

Honestly ive turned mine off until after Christmas, i can't afford to isolate for no good reason before then tbh. Stupid thing.

For goodness' sake, reassure the poor girl. This has to be a glitch because the app only works from when it's downloaded. It doesn't work retrospectively.

Also the app recommendation to isolate isn't compulsory anyway, (as it would be if Test and Trace called). It isn't compulsory because they know full well that it doesn't work properly and gives lots of false alerts.

@boredinthouse

Right here. It was included in an iOS update a while back.

It isn't switched on though until you download a compatible app. It is set to off as a default.

Do you live in a semi, terrace, or apartment and her room adjoins a neighbour? Exposire is determined by 15 mins within close (per gps) proximity - but gps doesn't identify party walls. If so, ignore.

App advice is not a legal requirement to isolate, only NHS T&T can mandate isolation.

But a 10 day isolation means exposure 4 days ago. Has she checked when it says exposure was?

"For goodness' sake, reassure the poor girl. This has to be a glitch"

Then if she deletes it and downloads it again she won't get the same "glitch". Problem solved.

The only thing that makes any sense is if she put the symptoms in there herself. I agree with the reassurance but I'd be trying to find out what she's really worried about tbh

"But a 10 day isolation means exposure 4 days ago"

Or symptoms submitted today

She hasn't been out since Wednesday as that is the only day she was due into college this week. Not sure why this is strange as we are in lockdown so can only go to work or education settings. She's usually in on Fridays too but hasn't been this week.

She is telling me that she wants to ignore the app and go in anyway so I really don't think there's anything untoward going on. She's not due in until Wednesday anyway.

Just ignore it. I'm a key worker and we don't have it as we don't want false alerts. We make our own assessments

@Rosehip10

Has she pressed she has symptoms button in the app while exploring it - this would give you a 10 day isolation

This. It’s so easy to click the wrong thing. Just delete and reinstall. If you get the same thing then turn it off for 2 weeks. It’s clearly an error.

@PicsInRed

Do you live in a semi, terrace, or apartment and her room adjoins a neighbour? Exposire is determined by 15 mins within close (per gps) proximity - but gps doesn't identify party walls. If so, ignore.

App advice is not a legal requirement to isolate, only NHS T&T can mandate isolation.

No we are detached. She was literally at college on Wednesday which I assume hasn't had a positive contact as they would have had to get in touch with her to let her know, and the bus. But as I say, she didn't have the app at this time.

I've deleted and reinstalled but the self isolate still comes on.

It’s a bit suspicious that the last day that she went out is exactly the day that would match up with 10 days of isolation remaining.

A glitch is much less likely than either the app being on her phone when she was in college on Wednesday (and came into contact with a case), or her telling it she has symptoms today. Both of those things would have resulted in the notification to isolate. If it’s the first then she needs to isolate, if it’s the latter you need to get to the bottom of why she might have done that. If she really doesn’t want to isolate then it’s more likely that the app has been on her phone for a while and she had close contact when she went to college on Wednesday. You don’t have to open the app for it to track contacts, it works continuously in the background.

Has she clicked the symptoms thing? I just tried it, two clicks later and I have a self isolate notice
(Just had a test and it was negative)

Did you check when the exposure is supposed to be?