HongKongers react to health code system in LeaveHomeSafe app

Hong Kong is set to implement real-name registration for the contact-tracing LeaveHomeSafe app and health codes to differentiate those infected of Covid-19 or undergoing quarantine. The move has sparked conversations online on whether the new implementation would breach personal privacy.

Speaking at the routine COVID-19 briefing on Monday afternoon, the new health chief Lo Chung Mau revealed that the real-name registration and a health code system will be introduced to the LeaveHomeSafe app “as soon as possible,” but did not propose a specific timeframe. The app will also be updated to introduce a health code system similar to what is used in mainland China. 

Lo said in the briefing that Hong Kong will introduce real-name registration for the contact-tracing, those who return positive results in nucleic acid tests will receive a “red code” and will be prohibited from entering a list of locations, including “high-risk” places such as hospitals and nursing homes.   Lo explained that the "red code" aims to identify the confirmed infected person and prevent them from entering specific places, “Currently for those who are quarantining at home, we will ensure that they do not enter some places with high-risk groups, especially hospitals and residential homes, under the isolation order.

“The public should understand that these confirmed cases should actually be quarantined [...] whether they are sent to some designated quarantine facilities or home quarantined, they should not be in the community. If a red code is issued as identification, we can implement more accurate and rigorous isolation measures,” Lo added.   Lo also assured  that the purpose of requiring users to register their real names on LeaveHomeSafe was to “identify confirmed cases and people required to undergo quarantine,” and “not to track them.”

Online chatter analysed

The announcement saw the keywords “health code” and "健康碼" generating 26% negative and 3.7% positive mentions on social media. The volume of mentions peaked on 11 July 2022. Lo was mentioned in a large number of captured articles and social posts (35.9%). The mentions were mainly related to the Monday press briefing, according to analysis of social monitoring company CARMA

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Charles Cheung, general manager of CARMA, said that the most negative mentions came from netizens’ concerns over the protection of personal privacy, with many questioning the effectiveness of the health code system as it was not successful in preventing the outbreaks of Omicron in Shanghai and Macau. Some believed there are signs of COVID-19 dying down in Hong Kong while some also associated the traffic light health code with the recent Henan banking protest.

On the other hand, Lo also mentioned in the press briefing that all arriving passengers will receive a “yellow code”, to ensure the corresponding individuals would not enter places with high-risk groups and carry out high-risk activities, especially activities that do not require face masks.

Currently arriving travellers will have to undergo seven day quarantine at designated quarantine hotels. However, Lo suggested that health surveillance should be held in place for more accurate isolation measures, as those who complete the quarantine days at hotels still have certain levels of risks. Therefore, Lo suggested home quarantine after isolation at designated hotels is an appropriate act. Lo repeated his earlier statement that the government is considering whether part of the current seven-day hotel quarantine requirement – which has been widely criticised by lawmakers and the public alike – can be changed to self-monitoring at home instead.

LeaveHomeSafe app reported to contain face detectors

Previously in May, the LeaveHomeSafe app also faced some chatter after Factwire, an investigative news organisation which shut down last month, said that after converting the source codes into readable java source files, it discovered LeaveHomeSafe's source code file comprises about 20 folders, containing a subfolder named “reactnative” which further comprises three folders titled “facedetector”, “camera”, and “maskedview” respectively.

Factwire added that one of the java files may be used to detect the positions of a person’s mouth, nose tip, left and right cheeks, eyes and ears. It can also detect the person's head tilt in degrees and calculate the probability that they are smiling or has each eye open. However, after testing the app by entering debug mode, FactWire learned that the app only uses the rear camera of the device. It said the probability of the user’s face being detected is very low.

In response to the report, a spokesman for the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) said the operation of the LeaveHomeSafe mobile app has never been used nor required any facial recognition function since its launch.

"After following up with the contractor responsible for the development and maintenance of the app, the OGCIO learned that the contractor had adopted a readily available module in the market for the development of app to operate the phone’s camera to perform the scanning processes required for the operation, including scanning and interpreting the venue QR code, the electronic vaccination QR code and the taxi registration mark," the spokesperson said. 

(Photo courtesy: Let's fight the virus video)

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