Contact-tracing apps and technologies are a hotly debated issue with legal, medical and technological implications. The most common mistake in the public debate is to put the tracing carried out by a private tech company to sell a service on the same level as the tracing carried out by governments to better manage infection risk during a pandemic. Vincenzo Salvatore and Giulia Tenaglia at BonelliErede offer hindsight into contact-tracing apps in Italy.