The federal corona warning app has already passed the Apple and Google review. You should also be able to download and use them from Tuesday. What should users know about this?
Berlin (dpa / tmn) - There are great hopes in the fight against the pandemic on the Corona warning app. The app does not help prevent infection. However, it can help people to be informed about risky encounters afterwards. Users are now asking a lot of questions - including how to use the app on a daily basis and how they should use the offer on their end devices.
Where can you download the official app - and how do I stop falling for a fake app?
The federal corona warning app has its own homepage (www.coronawarn.app), which also provides links for downloading the versions for iOS (iPhone) and Android. There is only one official Corona warning app per country.
What devices will the app run on?
The app is based on a concept from Apple and Google. The devices must therefore be able to provide these program interfaces. This works for the iPhone from the current iOS 13.5. This is available for devices from the iPhone 6s. An iPhone 6, 5S, 5 or an older model is not enough. Bluetooth LE must be supported on Android phones. In addition, Android 6 or a newer version must be running, and Google Play Services must be activated, because the company does not provide the interfaces via Android, but via these Google services.
Huawei's new Android devices like the P40 don't have these Google services. Does the app run there anyway?
Huawei wants to get the app running with replica Google services on its latest Android smartphones. According to Huawei, the corresponding Huawei services (HMS Core) must be updated to version 4.1.0.301. However, the app will not run on Google-free Android versions such as LineageOS or / e /.
How does the app work?
The app uses Bluetooth technology, which is used to control wireless speakers, keyboards or other devices. Depending on the smartphone model, it sends an anonymous identification number 16 times to the surrounding area every two and a half to five minutes. At the same time, the phone listens to whether it can receive Bluetooth signals from others. If users who both have the app running next to each other, the smartphones exchange their IDs.
Doesn't the constant sparking quickly drain the battery?
The developers say that the app does not draw much power and only uses a tiny fraction of the battery capacity. The many other apps that are also installed on a typical smartphone could be more problematic than the Corona warning app. If other applications wake up from the idle state together with the Corona warning app - for example, social media clients or email programs - this can already shorten the runtime of the smartphone. This is also the main reason why the app does not work all the time, but only every two and a half to five minutes.
How do you know that you have been near an infected person?
If you have tested positive for Covid-19, you can enter this status yourself in the app. To prevent abuse, this status must be officially confirmed. On the one hand, this is done using a QR code that you receive from the test laboratory. Alternatively, you can also enter a TAN - i.e. a transaction number - that you can get from a telephone hotline, since not all laboratories are able to generate QR codes. In the event of an infection, the app contacts concerned are then informed that they should be tested.
Doesn't the app endanger user privacy?
Privacy advocates are now praising the app after the initial concepts have been heavily criticized. With the app and the associated services, the real identities of the users are not exchanged, but only anonymized IDs that change several times an hour. The contact details are also not stored centrally - as intended at the beginning - but locally on the respective smartphones. Only the list of anonymized IDs of the infected is kept on a central server, the comparison takes place exclusively on the individual smartphones.
Can an employer order the app to be used by its employees?
Such a question should have been regulated in the employment contract, but is usually not mentioned there. In many cases, the employer will not be able to order this despite his duty of care towards employees and customers. However, some lawyers believe that this can be arranged for pure business cell phones and frequent contacts with colleagues.
How many people have to use the app to get the desired effect?
Reports on the Corona Warning app repeatedly state that the full effect is only achieved when 60 percent of the population or more take part. This number comes from a scientific study from Oxford. But the researchers also say that the number of infections and deaths decreases even if the application rate is lower.
Can the app replace wearing breathing masks and keeping distance rules?
No. The app can only help to identify chains of infection faster. If you want to protect yourself and others from infections, you should also keep enough distance with the app in your mobile phone and wear a mask.
Corona warning app for iOS
Corona warning app for Android
Communication from the University of Oxford
Health Minister Jens Spahn in the "Rheinische Post"
Draft discussion for a tracing app discrimination ban law
Corona warning app on Github
SAP-CTO Müller on LinkedIn
