They work by tracking a user's location and then alerting them if they come into contact with an infected person.

In Australia, the government's telling residents that downloading its tracing app is the ticket out of lockdown - so far almost three million people have done so.

But one expert from the National University of Singapore says these apps aren't without their problems - privacy for one, is an issue.

"There is a broader question of how data will be protected, where it will be stored and how long will it be used for? The idea is that it is used only for contact tracing," said Prof James Crabtree. "[But] the temptation will be to keep it and use it for other things."

He also adds that there are limitations to such apps.

"Imagine sitting in a cafe, you leave some virus on the table and an hour later someone else comes in and picks it up. The app won't tell you that," he told the BBC.

"The risk is the app gives people a false sense of confidence. It is not a magic bullet."