 The study aims to understand how users experience and perceive the use of COVID-19 contact tracing apps in New Zealand, a high-income country that successfully managed the pandemic. The research questions are, 1. How do users experience the app in their everyday contexts? And 2. What drives the use of the app? The study used thematic analysis on interviews with 34 NZ COVID tracer app users from Auckland, New Zealand. The results identified five major themes, perceived benefits, patterns of use, privacy, social influence, and need for collective action. The findings suggest that appeals to civic responsibility are likely to drive the use of a mobile contact tracing app under high-threat conditions. Flexible privacy settings in mobile contact tracing apps may be appropriate as privacy is not an important concern for many users. This article was authored by Alexei Trotayakov and Inga Hunter.