Tuesday noon, the StopCovid application is available in Apple and Google application stores. It can therefore be installed on all iPhone (Apple) and all smartphones equipped with Android (Google). The process is not mandatory, the government has insisted on its voluntary nature, while StopCovid has already been the subject of much ink. The main area of concern is respect for privacy.
As often, a small number of people, including the author of these lines, were able to test the application before its official launch in a "beta" version, very close to the final result. The installation of the application is very simple, it works like the others. You have to go to the AppStore or the Play Store, search for StopCovid and start the installation. But beware, you must be careful to install the right application, that of the French government. And not Stop Covid19 CAT which is that of the Catalan government (unless you live in Catalonia ...). Also watch out for other applications that may include the word Covid. The risks of fraud are real, even if no proven case has yet been reported.
Anonymous and encrypted identifiers
Once the application is installed, you just have to accept the terms of use. The opportunity to recall that the application only needs Bluetooth to operate. It does not access phone contacts, it does not geolocate its users, unlike many false accusations that circulate. Once the terms of use have been accepted, the final screen is displayed. The mention "Activated" is at the top left and in the middle of the screen, a button "I deactivate StopCovid", for those who wish. The ease of uninstalling the application is one of the conditions imposed by the National Data Protection Commission (Cnil).
Then? Well nothing. There is nothing more to do, except to have your smartphone on you while traveling. My iPhone battery was not damaged by this test. However, the StopCovid test during the application test period is quite frustrating, there are few users of the same service, and therefore few opportunities to measure the impact of the use of Bluetooth in this specific case. on battery life! It is also reassuring, since during this short and limited testing period, it means that I did not meet anyone who tested positive at Covid-19 after our meeting. The principle of the application being to warn its users that they have been in the presence for the past fourteen days, for more than 15 minutes and less than a meter away, of an individual who, subsequently, has been tested positive.
How is it for sick people? They receive with the result of their medical test, a code and a QR Code which allows them to declare themselves sick on the application, if they wish. Their "contacts" (understand the people crossed and not the content of their address book) are then notified by a message, with the procedure to be followed (test, isolation ...). The idea is to break a possible chain of contamination. In no case, the identities of the users are not disclosed, the data which are exchanged are anonymous and encrypted identifiers, so that they cannot be attributed to a given person. The data is kept on a server and destroyed after fourteen days. And when the state of health emergency is lifted, the application will be stopped!