In early 2020, as COVID-19 spread across the globe, governments scrambled for ways to contain it. Australia was no exception. With rising case numbers and pressure to reopen safely, the Australian government launched a bold digital initiative: COVIDSafe, an app that promised to automate and enhance contact tracing efforts.
Backed by a multimillion-dollar campaign and hailed as “COVID’s kryptonite,” COVIDSafe aimed to be a technological ally in the fight against the virus. But despite high hopes, it became one of Australia’s most criticized digital products, plagued by technical limitations, poor design decisions, and widespread user dissatisfaction.
This article explores:
✅ What COVIDSafe was designed to do
✅ How UI and UX issues contributed to its failure
✅ Public reactions and trust challenges
✅ Key lessons for designers and developers
✅ FAQs about designing public health apps
Let’s unpack how a well-intentioned app missed the mark — and what digital teams can learn.
What Was COVIDSafe?
COVIDSafe was Australia’s official contact tracing app, launched in April 2020 as a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.
It aimed to:
- Log Bluetooth-based encounters between users
- Help health authorities identify close contacts faster
- Support traditional manual contact tracing by filling in data gaps
- Encourage widespread adoption as part of national health policy
The app used Singapore’s BlueTrace protocol but customized for Australian privacy and health laws.
At its core, the idea was simple:
✅ You download the app.
✅ The app logs who you’ve been near (without revealing identities).
✅ If you test positive, you consent to upload your data.
✅ Health officials notify your contacts and advise them to isolate or test.
On paper? A modern, tech-forward solution.
In practice? A UX nightmare.
How the App Fell Short: UI/UX Problems in Focus
COVIDSafe wasn’t just a technical problem — it was a design problem. Let’s break down the key failures from a user interface and user experience perspective.
🔹 1️⃣ Inconsistent and Unclear Feedback
Many users complained:
- The app never showed whether it was “working.”
- No clear “ON/OFF” indicators for Bluetooth scanning.
- No real-time logs of contacts or scanning activity.
As a user, you couldn’t tell:
✅ Is the app running in the background?
✅ Is it scanning properly on my device?
✅ Should I leave it open or lock my phone?
👉 The UI lacked affordances to reassure users the app was functional.
🔹 2️⃣ Complex and Frustrating Onboarding
Setting up the app wasn’t intuitive:
- Long forms requiring personal information upfront.
- Confusing permission requests, especially for Bluetooth and background services.
- Poor error handling if permissions weren’t granted immediately.
Instead of guiding users gently, the onboarding felt bureaucratic and technical — ironically mirroring the very government red tape it aimed to simplify.
🔹 3️⃣ Poor iOS Functionality: A Critical UX Gap
iPhone users made up a large share of Australian smartphone owners. Unfortunately:
- COVIDSafe didn’t scan reliably in the background on iOS due to Apple’s Bluetooth restrictions at the time.
- Users had to keep the app open and the phone unlocked for it to work.
From a user’s perspective:
✅ “I downloaded it. Why isn’t it doing what it promised?”
✅ “I’m not going to leave my phone unlocked all day.”
👉 The app’s UX design failed to account for real-world device behaviors.
🔹 4️⃣ Lack of Real User Testing
Interviews later revealed:
✅ Minimal end-user testing before launch.
✅ Little inclusion of accessibility users (vision-impaired, elderly, non-English speakers).
✅ Feedback loops focused more on policy compliance than real usability.
The result? An app built for a checklist, not for the humans who needed to use it daily.
🔹 5️⃣ Minimal Transparency and User Control
Users couldn’t:
- View or delete individual logged contacts.
- Access logs of encounters themselves.
- Control which contacts were uploaded beyond blanket consent.
This eroded trust:
✅ “If I can’t see it, how do I know it’s safe?”
✅ “What’s happening with my data behind the scenes?”
👉 The UI offered no sense of agency or transparency, undermining user confidence.
Public Reactions: From Enthusiasm to Disillusionment
At launch, COVIDSafe was aggressively promoted:
- Ads everywhere: TV, radio, online
- Politicians urging everyone to “do their part”
- Framing the app as the ticket to reopening
Over 7 million Australians downloaded COVIDSafe in its first few weeks.
But soon:
❌ Stories circulated about it not working on iPhones.
❌ Some users deleted it out of frustration.
❌ Privacy advocates raised alarms over centralized data storage.
❌ Media coverage shifted from praise to skepticism.
By mid-2021, government reports admitted:
✅ COVIDSafe identified only 17 unique contacts not already found by manual tracers.
✅ The app cost over $10 million to build and maintain.
✅ It made little meaningful impact on pandemic management.
Why It Failed: Beyond Tech
Yes, Bluetooth restrictions and backend issues mattered. But from a UX and UI standpoint, COVIDSafe suffered because:
✅ It failed to communicate function to users.
✅ It wasn’t designed with mobile OS quirks in mind.
✅ It didn’t offer feedback, transparency, or agency.
✅ It ignored real-world user behavior (locked phones, low-tech literacy).
✅ It was built around a policy timeline, not a user-centered timeline.
Ultimately, it asked people to trust a black box with no way to verify it worked.
Lessons for Designers and Developers
COVIDSafe’s story offers critical takeaways for anyone building large-scale public-facing apps:
✅ Test UX in the real world, not just the lab
Design with actual environments, user habits, and device restrictions in mind.
✅ Prioritize visible feedback and transparency
Users need to see, feel, and understand what the app is doing.
✅ Simplify onboarding and permissions
Each friction point reduces adoption. Make permissions clear, staged, and easy.
✅ Design for platform constraints, not around them
You can’t force Android and iOS to behave identically. Work with limitations, not against them.
✅ Put user trust at the core of UI decisions
Let users view, manage, and control their data — not just opt in or out blindly.
✅ Measure effectiveness — and adapt
If user trust, adoption, or outcomes lag, the design needs iteration — not just political defense.
The Aftermath
COVIDSafe remained available until 2022, when the government officially shut it down after acknowledging its limited effectiveness.
By then, public trust had eroded:
✅ Many users had deleted it long ago.
✅ Others never downloaded it in the first place due to privacy or skepticism.
As Australia’s digital transformation continues, COVIDSafe stands as a reminder that:
👉 UX design isn’t optional. It’s not aesthetic polish. It’s central to function, trust, and adoption.
FAQs
1. Why didn’t COVIDSafe work properly on iPhones?
Apple’s Bluetooth privacy policies prevented reliable background scanning, requiring the app to stay open and active.
2. How many COVID cases did COVIDSafe help find?
Government reports showed the app identified only 17 unique contacts not already traced manually.
3. Was COVIDSafe secure?
It followed certain security protocols, but concerns over centralized data storage and lack of transparency reduced user trust.
4. Could better design have saved it?
Better UI/UX might have improved adoption and confidence, but technical and policy-level challenges also needed addressing.
5. How much did the app cost?
Over $10 million in development, maintenance, and promotion.
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