CoronaReport App - A Citizen Science app in times of a global crisis

Challenging times require creative solutions. The current corona crisis is a perfect example of that. That’s why we are excited to announce that the University of Edinburgh joined forces with SPOTTERON once more to create the CoronaReport Citizen Science app because understanding the social impact of COVID-19 on society is very important - not only for research but for society itself.

What is CoronaReport?

CoronaReport is a citizen science project for documenting the influence of COVID-19 on our lives. Citizens can use the CoronaReport app to share their stories and to better understand how the crisis is changing lives all around the world and provide records about their daily occurrences. These data are helping scientists understand how the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the way people live and work. Find out more on the official project website www.coronareport.eu

How does the CoronaReport App work?

With the app, participants can create reports on how the corona crisis is affecting them personally, their homes, workplaces and their daily activities. They can then update their reports at any time and create a live journal of their experiences.
The main focus is on how citizens feel and in what kind of mood they are during the crisis. They then may continue with a report on themselves, a place, or an activity, describe how they and their surroundings adapt to the corona crisis, or if people are keeping social distance, and many more.
The contributions will then be processed by the leading scientists of the project and will be an enormous help in finding solutions for dealing with the crisis on a social level.

The app is, like all citizen science projects running on the SPOTTERON platform, completely free of charge.

Who is leading the CoronaReport project?

The CoronaReport project is led by Scottish Collaboration for Public Health Research and Policy (SCPHRP) at the University of Edinburgh.

If you are a researcher at another institution and are interested in collaboratively conducting a research project please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and include a description of your proposed research. Data requests will be managed with a data use agreement and will require an approved study protocol (ethics assessment) before data transfer.

What happens to the data in the CoronaReport App?

Data at SPOTTERON: Data on the CoronaReport platform are securely encrypted and never monetized. Users are never tracked and we do not implement any permanent third-party tracker scripts. For more information on that topic please visit the SPOTTERON Privacy and Data Safety page.

Data at The University of Edinburgh (UofE): UofE receives anonymous, aggregated data for research purposes. These data are stored on secure servers at the University. The study research protocol was reviewed and approved by an Ethics Review Board at the University of Edinburgh. Importantly, the UofE doesn’t have access to information on the CoronaReport platform that isn’t already publicly available, so there is no risk to privacy or confidentiality.

Important note: since the CoronaReport project focuses on social science, no personal medical data is being stored by either the UofE or SPOTTERON at any given time.

Can the CoronaReport app be used outside of the UK?

Yes, the CoronaReport works worldwide and we welcome citizens and scientists from all corners of the world to participate!

About the app development

A global crisis like this requires an unusual and creative approach. Both the team of the University of Edinburgh and the SPOTTERON team have worked hard from their homes during the lock-down to create the CoronaReport app within just one week. It is the first and only democratic citizen-led corona app of it's kind.

The project includes a professional Citizen Science project website, which is part of the SPOTTERON Package B. The website features a Content Management System (CMS), which enables the scientists and project partners to create new pages and news anytime. The website is fully compatible with mobile devices (responsive design) and offers much flexibility even after the project has started. We even did a pre-launch campaign landing page to allow interested users, stakeholders and researchers to register their email address to be notified as soon the app has officially been launched. Visit the website here: https://www.coronareport.eu/

How to participate:

Download the free app for Android in the google app store here: Corona Report for Android
or directly here on our Citizen Science app page, where you can find various citizen science apps, running on the SPOTTERON platform.

The app's iOS version is still in review by Apple will be hopefully available for your iPhone soon!