Consumers need to be aware of what data is being collected by venues to help contact tracing efforts, says a privacy expert. On Friday Premier Peter Gutwein announced that it would be compulsory for hospitality venues to record who comes and goes from their premises. The new rules kick in on November 13 and are aimed at helping contain any potential COVID-19 outbreaks. IN OTHER NEWS: WorkSafe Tasmania is producing standardised paper tracing forms, with the government also looking into digital options. However, the premier noted that digital options already exist on the market. University of Tasmania cyber security researcher Dr Joel Scanlan said for consumers the question needs to be how their data is being stored after collection. He said digital methods were preferable to having a paper form visible to everyone at the venue, but that doesn't mean they are perfect. IN RELATED NEWS: "The question comes down to what are they using the data for. Is it just for the contact tracing or are they actually using it for other purposes," Dr Scanlan said. "When you look at organisations going here's a tracing app. and you're now going to a restaurant and you have to use this other tracing thing, you don't actually know what is happening with that data. "If it is digital it is a lot easier to re-purposed than something that is written down on paper." Autech Software chief executive Darren Alexander said their booking app Book-Eat-Safe, which was developed to facilitate COVID safe bookings, encrypted all the data it recorded. He said users would only receive marketing information if they explicitly agreed to. "The consumer app ... it'll give them the opportunity to opt in or opt out as part of the application which allows venues to send the person offers or discounts," Mr Alexander said. "[If they opt out] they will not receive any information. They will [only] be notified if there is an update to the app from us." Mr Alexander said only public health would have access to the encrypted data if a positive COVID case was detected. About 50 venues are expected to be signed up to the Book-Eat-Safe service when it officially launches next week. Other Western countries have launched state run check-in services to limit the ability for corporations to misuse consumer data. In the United Kingdom a government run app allows users to check-in anonymously, with the person only being notified if there was a potential contact to a positive case. New Zealand have launched a similar app which works as a "digital diary" with people scanning official QR codes when required. Australia's COVIDSafe app had been billed as the contact tracing solution to allow the easing of restrictions but has been largely unsuccessful. Even during outbreaks in Victoria and NSW the app only managed to trace limited numbers of contacts which manual contact tracing didn't find. Premier Peter Gutwein said Tasmania was exploring the option of developing a digital check-in system, however it is not yet known how it will work or when it will be established. What do you think? Send us a letter to the editor: