NHS COVID-19 app statistics: notes on the data
Updated 18 May 2023
Applies to England and Wales
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Data sources
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) collects this data and publishes these statistics about the NHS COVID-19 app. The app is designed to protect the privacy and identity of app users. Data used by the app is anonymous and reporting is aggregated. Read more about how the app protects the privacy of its users.
Further information relating to each data set can be found on the cover sheet in each ODS data file.
Coverage
The NHS COVID-19 app covers England and Wales only.
Data coverage periods are given in the notes for each data set.
Data on app downloads, number of app users, NHS QR code posters and venue alerts are available for England and Wales combined.
Data on venue check-ins, contact tracing alerts, symptoms reported and tests booked through the app are available at Lower Tier Local Authority (LTLA) level as well as at country level (for England and Wales separately).
App users on versions of the app earlier than 3.12 (released on 30 November 2020) were asked to enter their postcode district (the first part of their postcode before the space) on set-up. A single postcode district may cover multiple LTLAs. For data purposes, if we only have the user’s postcode district, this is mapped to the LTLA with the highest weighted population, based on estimates provided by the Office of National Statistics. All data recorded for postcode districts on the Isles of Scilly was merged with Cornwall.
To improve local advice for app users, a change was made to version 3.12 of the app to ask users for their LTLA if their postcode district covers more than one. The data reflects this from 25 January 2021. As user-entered local authority is more accurate than the mapping that was undertaken previously, week-on-week data values in some areas may increase or decrease between the reporting weeks ending 21 January, 28 January and 4 February 2021.
Timings
The NHS COVID-19 app launched an ‘early adopters’ trial from 13 August 2020. Data on the number of app downloads, users and NHS QR code posters created starts from this date.
The app launched nationally in England and Wales on 24 September 2020. Most of the published data starts from this date.
Data on the number of venue alerts starts from December 2020.
Privacy
The app is designed to protect the privacy and identity of app users. Data used by the app is anonymous and reporting is aggregated.
All data values are subject to small number suppression in order to maintain confidentiality. This means that if any value falls between 1 and 5, the data will always display a value of 5.
Because of small number suppression, it may not be possible to sum values across all LTLAs to obtain the same values provided in the country level data.
Data latency
Most data is received within 24 to 48 hours of an event occurring. However, in some circumstances (for example, when a device does not have an internet connection or has been turned off), data will arrive later. Because of this, data continues to increase for earlier dates.
Other relevant data
Read the latest data from the wider NHS Test and Trace programme (England)
Read the latest data from the wider NHS Wales Test, Trace, Protect programme (Wales)