Americans divided on whether it' S acceptable for the government to track people who have tested positive for COVID-19 through their cellphone % ofU.S. adults who say it is acceptable or unacceptable for the government to juse people's cellphones to track the location ofpeople Who may have had contact positive for the coronavirus To ensure they are complying
Amid this tension between personal privacy and public safety, 52% of Americans surveyed in early April say it is at least somewhat acceptable for the government to use people’s cellphones to track the location of those who have tested positive for the virus to understand how the virus is spreading, but a similar share (48%) believes this is very or somewhat unacceptable to do. At the same time, 45% of the public says it is acceptable for the government to use cellphones to track the location of people who may have had contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, while a somewhat larger share (54%) describes this type of tracking as unacceptable.
By comparison, there is less support for monitoring mobile devices to make sure people are following social distancing guidelines. Some 37% of Americans say it is at least somewhat acceptable for the government to use people’s cellphones to track the location of people to ensure they are complying with experts’ advice on limiting social contact during the coronavirus outbreak. But a much larger share (62%) believes this type of cellphone tracking is very (43%) or somewhat (20%) unacceptable.
Americans divided on whether it' S acceptable for the  | government to track people who have tested positive  | for COVID-19 through their cellphone  | % ofU.S. adults who say it is acceptable or unacceptable for the  | government to juse people's cellphones to track the location ofpeople  | Very Somewhat Somewhat Very  | Who have tested positive for  | the coronavirus in order to  | 24  | 28  | 15  | 33  | understand how the virus  | may be spreading  | NET Acceptable 52  | NET Unacceptable 48  | Who may have had contact  | 19  | 26  | 37  | 18  | with someone who tested  | positive for the coronavirus  | NET Acceptable 45  | NET Unacceptable 54  | To ensure they are complying  | limiting with experts' advice on  | 14  | 23  | 20  | 43  | limiting social contact during  | the coronavirus outbreak  | NET Unacceptable 62  | NET Acceptable 37  | Note: Those who did not give an answer are not shown.  | Source: Survey of U.S. adults conducted April 7-12, 2020.  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 