Martínez, Parilli, Rojas, Scartascini); Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México ( Simpser) "The findings presented here may travel well to other related policy areas where safety is a concern, such as vaccination." Despite the potential benefits of COVID-19 contact tracing and self-diagnostic smartphone applications (apps), downloads and intentions to use have been lower than acceptance levels. The adoption of these apps is an instance of a public policy aiming for societal benefit that requires individuals to undertake actions that may have real or perceived costs - in this case, related to privacy (fear that the apps may be tracking whereabouts or accumulating personal information). To that end, governments have focused app-related communication campaigns on the work they have been doing to ensure privacy. This study explores how the content of the messages used to promote the apps influences adoption among Mexican adults. It highlights the unintended consequences of addressing data privacy issues directly in governments' communications campaigns, with the policy implications that result.