Towards a new era of mass data collection: Assessing pandemic surveillance technologies to preserve user privacy

• Published in: Technological forecasting & social change Vol. 167; p. 120681
• Main Authors: Ribeiro-Navarrete, Samuel, Saura, Jose Ramon, Palacios-Marqués, Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.06.2021; Elsevier B.V; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Analysis; Applications programs; Borders; Central government; Control systems; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Data collection; Data entry; Data management; Data points; Disease control; Electronic devices; Epidemics; Health behavior; Information management; Information seeking behavior; Literature reviews; Mass data-collection; Mobile applications; Mobile computing; Mobile devices; Pandemics; Privacy; Public health; Surveillance; User privacy; World health; COVID-19; User privacy; Mobile devices; Mass data-collection; Data management
• ISSN: 0040-1625; 1873-5509; 0040-1625
• DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120681

•13 technologies to track COVID-19 infection and future pandemics are identified and reviewed.•73 relevant studies using mobile device massive data collection techniques to monitor and track symptoms of COVID-19 and future pandemics are analyzed.•25 data points that affect user privacy through massive data collection techniques working with mobile applications are highlighted.•Implications for policy makers and researchers to focus on preserving user privacy and curbing COVID-19 infections are presented. Controlling the coronavirus pandemic is triggering a cross-border strategy by which national governments attempt to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. A response based on sharing facts about millions of private movements and a call to study information behavior during the global health crisis has been advised worldwide. The present study aims to identify the technologies to control the COVID-19 and future pandemics with massive data collection from users’ mobile devices. This research undertakes a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of the studies about the currently available methods, strategies, and actions to collect and analyze data from users’ mobile devices. In a total of 76 relevant studies, 13 technologies that are classified based on the following aspect of data and data management have been identified: (1) security; (2) destruction; (3) voluntary access; (4) time span; and (5) storage. In addition, in order to understand how these technologies can affect user privacy, 25 data points that these technologies could have access to if installed through mobile applications have been detected. The paper concludes with a discussion of important theoretical and practical implications of preserving user privacy and curbing COVID-19 infections in the global public health emergency situation.