Plaintiffs Robert Wright and Johnny Kula were among 1 million Massachusetts residents who had the state's "COVID Exposure Settings: US-MA" app auto-installed without their consent, according to the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), the nonpartisan civil rights group that filed the lawsuit (pdf) on Tuesday.

The app, once automatically installed, didn't appear on the device's home screen as newly-installed apps typically do. Instead, it was invisible and could only be found by opening "settings" and using the "view all apps" feature, according to NCLA.

This meant that many device users were unaware of its presence. Many have decried this as an invasion of privacy.

The NCLA declared the action a "brazen disregard" of civil liberties, saying in a statement the app was installed "without obtaining any search warrants, in violation of the device owners' constitutional and common-law rights to privacy and property."

"This 'android attack,' deliberately designed to override the constitutional and legal rights of citizens to be free from government intrusions upon their privacy without their consent, reads like dystopian science fiction—and must be swiftly invalidated by the court," said NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel Peggy Little in a statement.

'Government May Not Secretly Install Surveillance' on Devices

Other states and foreign countries mostly tried to persuade their citizens to voluntarily install contact tracing apps, even if it meant fewer people took it up, according to Sheng Li, litigation counsel for NCLA.

"The government may not secretly install surveillance devices on your personal property without a warrant—even for a laudable purpose," Li said. "For the same reason, it may not install surveillance software on your smartphone without your awareness and permission."