People wearing face masks seen crossing a road in Hong Kong, Feb 18, 2021. (LO PING FAI / XINHUA)

HONG KONG – The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s government has condemned the spreading of false information about the LeaveHomeSafe mobile app by a group in an attempt to mislead the public and interfere with anti-pandemic work.

In a statement issued on Friday, a spokesman for the Innovation and Technology Bureau expressed anger at an alliance using the excuse of "healthcare" to publicly disseminate false information about the COVID-19 contact tracing app, saying that the app does not require registration for use.

The app does not have a tracking function and venue check-in data will not be uploaded or transferred to the government or any other systems.

Spokesman, HK's Innovation and Technology Bureau

“The app does not have a tracking function and venue check-in data will not be uploaded or transferred to the government or any other systems. The data is saved on users' mobile phones only,” the spokesman said.

Matching of users' check-in data and the issuing of health alerts will only be carried out within the app. Users' whereabouts will not be disclosed, according to the statement.

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The bureau reiterated that the app does not pose a privacy risk.

Given that the app has undergone and passed security risk assessment and auditing as well as privacy impact assessment conducted by independent third parties to ensure its compliance with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, members of the public can feel at ease when using the app.

In a separate statement, a spokesman for the Hospital Authority said it strongly refuted false information disseminated by healthcare workers about the LeaveHomeSafe app and urged them to stop spreading the information.