Rethink color choice for low risks

[moerphie]

Regarding to the latest issues with the CWA a green color in the risk panel might be a fallacy.

– You're not safe when it is green.

Maybe a neutral white or gray would be a better choice for clearness.

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Internal Tracking ID: EXPOSUREAPP-2042

[tkowark]

Thanks for your suggestion. Since it affects both apps and needs to be discussed with designers and the RKI, we'll move it to the wishlist repo.

[MichaelPFrey]

people are very sensitive when observing changes.

After seeing the green every day for weeks now, it changing to gray could result in people questioning if the app is working (gray currently is used when not enough data is collected yet) or worst case: It coincides with their first low-risk risk-contact.

Some people already panicked when they see one low risk risk-contact on green 1.

Now imagine people seeing a similar text 2 on gray on their device, when in the media and official communication screenshots with a green background and different text are in circulation.
How will they respond?

I totally agree that the app can give a false sense of safety and that gray would have been the more objective choice in hindsight (now knowing the low usage/acceptance in the population) - but concerning the current user base by changing the color(s) is not a good idea in my opinion, as people rightfully would ask what the change means when they notice it one day.

Communicating the change in advance is also tricky.
Note the media tendency to misunderstand and misrepresent details.
This is mend as a subtle change in representation, but it can be perceived as a major change in meaning. (I mean: that is kind of the point of this suggestion: changing it from green to gray is most concerning for people that currently had a false sense of safety due to the app. Correcting this misunderstanding is important, but the not unlikely reaction could be that people uninstall the app, because they realize that the app does not provide the personal and direct benefit they assumed it as to them.)

[marianschmidt]

I would like to reference my suggestion to think about maybe a second level of information that can only be accessed (together with) a health worker, so that messaging towards the end user can remain simple and non-alarmist.

https://github.com/corona-warn-app/cwa-wishlist/issues/100#issuecomment-666186069

[MichaelPFrey]

I would like to reference my suggestion to think about maybe a second level of information that can only be accessed (together with) a health worker, so that messaging towards the end user can remain simple and non-alarmist.

Imagine the practical logistics of a health care worker having to explain that a contact that lasted between 0 and 5 minutes (yes, the increments are about 5 minutes) in a distance of 10 to 15 meters (free field equivalent distance - the actual distance could be less if a small wall was in between the phones, but not the faces) is less risky then going to a hospital or doctors office to get a 5 minute explanation about that topic. Repeat that in a few days, because maybe an other patient in an other room tests positive that day and again triggers a low risk warning.

Also: How do you want to restrict access to the data logistically? Handing over the phone to the doctor? shared item/Indirect handshake. Letting the patient scan a QR code to unlock additional information? And then what? Let the patient read out the information? What if the patient can not speak/read German?

And then what? The patient visited the doctor and at best still knows as little as before. Or at worst the patient thinks that not having symptoms, low risk in the app and a doctors visit implies being corona free. (Even a negative PCR test is no prove for not being infected)

[gagamail]

Correcting this misunderstanding is important, but the not unlikely reaction could be that people uninstall the app, because they realize that the app does not provide the personal and direct benefit they assumed it as to them.)

Yesterday I just had this case - but exactly the opposite. Person got one exposure but the color stayed green. Person was very confused and thought about deinstalling the App because of the green color which might give the person a feeling of wrong security. No matter what you do it always will confuse some people.

[patrick-heuer]

Here my few cents:

I always thougt I had no risks, since the app always showed "green" to me - but then after some months, when reading the text on the green box again, I was totally shocked to see that I had contact to an infection case with (low) risk for me! Maybe I had that before many times and I never saw the details in the text...

Why the app didn´t show low risks in "yellow" color to me, isn´t it the purpose of the app to warn their users in case of risks, instead to hide/vanish such important information, by showing always green color (grean means to me = everything is great)?

So I would suggest a traffic light similar color code, having very good UI/UX:

green: no risk
yellow: low risk
red: higher risk

That everybody shall be able to understand without the need of reading all the details...

btw. I also don´t understand why "gray" is in discussion here - "gray" means usually "disabled" - things are grayed out because they are not applicable, e.g. when not able to calculate or similar.

Thanks! :)

[MichaelPFrey]

Here my few cents:

I always thougt I had no risks, since the app always showed "green" to me
You are totally misunderstanding what the app can do.

It can only warn you about contacts with other app users, that have tested positive and self reported them self. The app can not warn you when had a high risk contact with an untested asymptomatic carrier. The app can not warn you, when a person that has tested positive does not have the app. The app can not warn you, when the person that has tested positive has the app, but does not want or can not report him self positive.

So, the app can never declare "no risk" for you or anyone as there are situations, it simply can not cover.

but then after some months, when reading the text on the green box again, I was totally shocked to see that I had contact to an infection case with (low) risk for me! Maybe I had that before many times and I never saw the details in the text...

Why the app didn´t show low risks in "yellow" color to me, isn´t it the purpose of the app to warn their users in case of risks, instead to hide/vanish such important information, by showing always green color (grean means to me = everything is great)?

You want a yellow warning, when the contact maybe was less then 5 minutes and 15 meters away?
And then what?

You want to be alarmed about risk? Look at the rki dashboard Plenty of red and yellow where ever you look.

So I would suggest a traffic light similar color code, having very good UI/UX:

green: no risk

There is no "no risk" state as the app can not cover a lot of situations.
There is always a latent risk.

yellow: low risk

with the "call of action" to "stay alert" meaning to continue as before? How is that useful?

red: higher risk

That everybody shall be able to understand without the need of reading all the details...

No, you can display "low risk" in green and people panic: 1.
Make it yellow and people are forced to read all the details to understand what yellow means, followed by them calling up their doctors and local health authorities "just to be sure".
Make one state "no risk" and green and people falsely assume that have "no risk" of having covid.

btw. I also don´t understand why "gray" is in discussion here - "gray" means usually "disabled" - things are grayed out because they are not applicable, e.g. when not able to calculate or similar.

yeah, the app can not calculate your risk. Not at the current rate of adoption in the population.
All the app can do is warn you when you had a high risk contact with an other app user.
At the current rate of adoption, the "low risk" status can be misleading. Gray as in "no known high risk contact with a known infected person but there are lot of people that do not use the app or do not report them self positive" would be more accurate. Note: I am against changing it to gray as the chance would scare people, but objectively in hindsight (low rate of usage in the population), I agree that it would have had been the more objective choice.

Under no circumstances (even if using the app was mandatory and the usage rate 100%) the app could actually tell you that you have a no risk of infection.
There are plenty of situations with risk of infection that the app simply can not cover even under ideal circumstances.

[MikeMcC399]

There were a lot of discussions about this and there is a related official statement from RKI in
#100 (comment).

PS Maybe one of the moderators could change the title of this issue from "Overthink" to "Rethink".
Overthink means "to spend more time thinking about something than is necessary or productive" 😄 and it is not the right translation for the German "Überdenken".