JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Applications that enable contact-tracing are instrumental, but there have been concerns about the data they collect and how these data are being managed. Contact tracing is of paramount importance when dealing with a pandemic. It allows for the rapid identification of cases based on the information from infected individuals with regards to their recent contacts. With advances in digital technology, devices like mobile phone can now be employed in the contract tracing process. Whilst there are potential benefits of these applications, there are also ongoing concerns about such applications. There is a risk that personal information and sensitive data might be stolen should hackers be in the near vicinity of these devices. Whilst awaiting the development of privacy-preserving applications, privacy policies outlining the risk associated with the use of contact tracing applications are needed, and in a format that is easily read and comprehended by the public. There remains to date no prior work done in examining the readability of privacy policies. Given this, we undertook a readability analysis of seven privacy policies of contact tracing applications. Our analysis demonstrates that existing explanations require a reading grade between 7 to 14, far in excess of many people’s ability. Improving the readability of privacy policies could be reassuring and facilitate the adoption and ultimate impact of these applications.