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How do you realistically use this app if you have to keep it open. You and everyone else are so focussed on convincing everyone that it’s safe, etc and totally

How do you realistically use this app if you have to keep it open. You and everyone else are so focussed on convincing everyone that it’s safe, etc and totally ignoring the practical aspects of it. For someone to have the app open for 15 mins within 1.5m all day.. how will that be done, it requires a large conscious commitment. You might as well just ask the person who is in your personal space for 15 consecutive minutes If it worked in the background that’s more useful and realistic.

dragonsky 7y ago
This is my problem with the app. The only reason I'm going to be in public for a 15 minute period at the moment is either being on or waiting for public transport or eating in a food court. In those cases I'm going to be using my phone to browse the net or watch a video meaning that this app won't be functional. At least on iOS, so what is the point?
- jeromegv 7y ago
  That's why an OS solution is the only viable solution. Asking for the app to be open is the most ridiculous thing ever.
  - dTal 7y ago
    That doesn't follow at all. Open or not has nothing to do with it. It simply means the app is badly designed.
    - jeromegv 7y ago
      No, you can't keep an app permanently running in the background on iOS. The operating system does not allow it.
rstuart4133 7y ago
> If it worked in the background that’s more useful and realistic. It does work in the background on Android, and I gather background scanning is coming on iOS. As someone above said, don't get the perfect be the enemy of the good. Get it out the door, get it tested while you wait for Apple to get their act together is not only reasonable - it's the by far the best forward as an engineering strategy.
sjy 7y ago
This is the question I’ve been wondering about, but currently it’s still not clear that you need to do this. I installed the iOS app out of curiosity, and it didn’t tell me I had to leave it foregrounded. However, a few minutes after exiting the app I did receive a notification saying I should reopen it to keep it working – maybe apps can continue scanning in the background for some limited period of time?
mickotron 7y ago
Mate I think you are overcomplicating this something fierce. It runs in the background. It logs all encounters by either advertising its presence (Peripheral mode) or scanning for devices (Central Mode). They alternate between these states. When two devices encounters it's logged on both sides. That device is blacklisted for a few cycles to avoid constantly logging it. The 15 minutes 1.5m conditions are applied on the reporting side after it is uploaded. No conscious effort. Kinda like how your email client pings you when you receive an email. When was the last time you had to consciously think for an email to come into your mailbox?

dragonsky 7y ago

This is my problem with the app. The only reason I'm going to be in public for a 15 minute period at the moment is either being on or waiting for public transport or eating in a food court. In those cases I'm going to be using my phone to browse the net or watch a video meaning that this app won't be functional. At least on iOS, so what is the point?

jeromegv 7y ago
That's why an OS solution is the only viable solution. Asking for the app to be open is the most ridiculous thing ever.
- dTal 7y ago
  That doesn't follow at all. Open or not has nothing to do with it. It simply means the app is badly designed.
  - jeromegv 7y ago
    No, you can't keep an app permanently running in the background on iOS. The operating system does not allow it.

rstuart4133 7y ago

> If it worked in the background that’s more useful and realistic. It does work in the background on Android, and I gather background scanning is coming on iOS. As someone above said, don't get the perfect be the enemy of the good. Get it out the door, get it tested while you wait for Apple to get their act together is not only reasonable - it's the by far the best forward as an engineering strategy.

sjy 7y ago

This is the question I’ve been wondering about, but currently it’s still not clear that you need to do this. I installed the iOS app out of curiosity, and it didn’t tell me I had to leave it foregrounded. However, a few minutes after exiting the app I did receive a notification saying I should reopen it to keep it working – maybe apps can continue scanning in the background for some limited period of time?

mickotron 7y ago

Mate I think you are overcomplicating this something fierce. It runs in the background. It logs all encounters by either advertising its presence (Peripheral mode) or scanning for devices (Central Mode). They alternate between these states. When two devices encounters it's logged on both sides. That device is blacklisted for a few cycles to avoid constantly logging it. The 15 minutes 1.5m conditions are applied on the reporting side after it is uploaded. No conscious effort. Kinda like how your email client pings you when you receive an email. When was the last time you had to consciously think for an email to come into your mailbox?