Norwegian tech experts said Wednesday that a government app released to help trace the spread of the new coronavirus in the country, did not sufficiently protect personal “privacy”, AFP reports.

Launched in April, the smart phone app Smittestopp ( “Infection stop “) was set up to collect movement data to help authorities trace the spread of Covid-19 and inform users if they had been exposed to someone carrying the novel coronavirus.

Developed in Norway and downloadable on a voluntary basis, the application used centralised data storage, as is planned in France and the UK, much to the chagrin of privacy advocates.

The data is supposed to be anonymous and deleted after 30 days, but a panel of experts concluded on Wednesday that personal data was not sufficiently protected under the current arrangement.