Barely 2.6 million downloads and 753 alerts sent: here is the meager record of StopCovid, the French tracking application intended to better fight against the Covid-19 epidemic by detecting prolonged contact between its users.
“
It's a collective missed opportunity
, regretted Secretary of State for Digital Cédric O at Talk du Figaro.
"
If 10 times as many people installed it, it would be much more useful
."
Recognizing communication errors and bad timing, the government decided to launch a second improved version of the application today, hoping to encourage more French people to download it.
The objective and the principle remain the same.
If a user of the application becomes ill, he can prevent by declaring himself positive all the people he has frequented without revealing his identity.
The latter are then considered as contact cases, can isolate themselves without wasting time and be tested as a priority.
New features
The new version of StopCovid, called TousAntiCovid, will incorporate interactive features that were lacking in its first version.
It will be presented Thursday at 5 p.m.
The government promises "
an optimized visual environment and ergonomics with instant access to all the functionalities of the application
".
An important point for a solution that must be used daily.
All the more so as this tool, which today offers little more functions than the tracing of contact cases, will become more extensive.
TousAntiCovid will thus integrate an “information center” which will provide details on the evolution of the epidemic: number of cases and incidence rate.
Details on the measures taken to counter the spread of the virus, such as the curfew or the obligation to wear a mask, will also be available.
It will be possible to indicate its geographical position to obtain more relevant information.
A video of the application, published by cybersecurity researcher Baptiste Robert, shows this feature, as well as other new features.
We thus see a heading “screening center”.
This is not a feature built into the app, but a link to a government site.
Same operation for the travel certificate in areas where a curfew is imposed, which links to a dedicated page outside the application.
A limited ergonomics, which could however give more visibility to these tools.
A simple evolution
“
It's not StopCovid's big night
,” warns Cédric O. The basic principle of the application, based on the use of Bluetooth to detect contacts between individuals, has therefore not changed.
No more than its sovereign ROBERT protocol, developed independently of the solution proposed by Apple and Google, which was chosen by the majority of European countries.
TousAntiCovid therefore remains incompatible with their tracking applications.
Will its use be imposed on the French, as has been envisaged in other countries?
"
We have chosen not to make TousAntiCovid mandatory, like all European countries,
" insists Cédric O.
The application will continue to be enriched with new features and services.
An integrated digital reminder book was notably announced by the Secretary of State for Digital.