Download this? 127 government apps costing HK$38 million get audited
Guidelines urged for mobile offerings as many get low usage rate or decommissioned
Some government mobile apps lack useful features, virtual copy their department websites and cost tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars, according to a study by the government’s auditor, which unveiled a list of popular and unpopular apps.
After testing 22 apps offered by four departments, the auditor concluded: “Some of the apps were catered for specific targeted users and may not have broad appeal”.
However, the app’s cost was unavailable.
The commission stated that departments with a lacklustre showing needed to “enhance the app contents to attract more people” to use them.
The auditor also examined 31 apps created by government departments for one-off events. Out of 31 such apps, 23 had already been decommissioned and the development cost of those apps amounted to HK$2.6 million.
But it noted some of the decommissioned apps had a “low” number of downloads.
For example, the LCSD spent HK$185,000 to create a one-off app called P ortable Dunhuang Story Player in 2014. Yet in less than a year, it was decommissioned and the number of downloads stood at only 6,745.