Enlarge image
Tests of family members in the Corona-Warn-App 2.21
Photo: Corona warning app open source project
Version 2.21 of the Corona warning app for iPhones and Android phones has been available for download since Tuesday morning.
In a blog entry, their developers describe the possibility for users to also manage tests for family members after the update as the most important innovation.
As an example, the app developers cite families in which parents can now load their children's test results into their app and request their Covid test certificates.
This should be particularly helpful when traveling, because then one person can show all the certificates needed for the whole family.
The function also makes everyday life easier for families in which not all children have their own smartphone.
Warning function not usable for everyone
However, the developers also point out that the Corona warning app cannot warn other users in the event of a positive test result.
Due to the way the app works, this only works if users »have registered the test for themselves«.
The software's warning function is based on smartphones exchanging IDs with each other and the app can later issue a warning based on this data if the user has allegedly had contact with someone who later tested positive.
This principle requires that the respective smartphone is always where the user is.
The developers write: "If you were to share the positive test result of a person who was not where the smartphone was, users who had contact with the person who tested positive might not be warned."
To register a family member's test in the app, in the new app version you first go to "Are you getting tested?" and then to "Scan QR code".
Then you scan the QR code of the corresponding appointment booking.
Afterwards, however, you now have the choice of registering the test for yourself or »for others«.
The results can then be viewed as soon as they are available in the new »Family Member Tests« section.
More information on vaccination status
In the course of the app update, the texts on the vaccination status, which are under the users' digital Covid certificates, were "adapted to different scenarios".
You should now provide more detailed information about whether you are considered to be “basically immunized because you have had an infection”, whether you have “received all currently recommended vaccinations” or whether you should find out about a “recommended booster vaccination”.
Users can find out whether their version of the app is up-to-date by calling up the warning app page in the Google Play Store or Apple's App Store.
If your own app version is outdated and has not yet been automatically updated, the software can be updated manually using a button that is then displayed there.
If an update to version 2.21 is still not possible, the only solution is to wait: the new version should be made available to all users within 48 hours.
mak
