An app that has been devised to track symptoms of coronavirus has become the third most popular app in the country.

Covid-19 Tracker is aiming to help scientists understand the virus more fully. It is specifically attempting to better understand symptoms of Covid-19, the speed it is spreading in areas and where the most high-risk parts of the country are.

The app, created by Dr Tim Spector, Professor of genetic epidemiologist at Kings’s college London has stormed the app charts being downloaded as many as 50,000 times per hour. It has gained momentum by being shared on social media and other messaging apps such as Whatsapp.

Researchers involved in its creation from Guy’s and St Thomas hospitals along with Kings College hope it will have the ability to find out why people get different strains of the virus and to decipher which cases are coronavirus and which are more common illnesses.

The app asks participants to take 1-minute to self-report daily, even for people who are well.

Dr Spector hopes the data collated by the Covid Symptom Tracker can be used by the NHS, data modellers and researchers to aid their ongoing research.

The NHS has not endorsed the app and experts warn people to be cautious when downloading apps.

Covid-19 tracker app is available to download from Apple and Google app stores.