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Luca app
Photo: Christoph Soeder / dpa
According to the makers of the Luca app, they have deleted all contact tracing data from their system that was collected and stored centrally during the course of the corona pandemic.
This was announced by the managing director of the operating company, Patrick Hennig, on Wednesday in Berlin.
From now on, the data is only stored and visible locally on the users' smartphones, said Hennig.
»Luca has no access to it.« If you also want to get rid of your locally saved data, you have to uninstall the app manually.
The deletion of the data from the Luca system is part of a repositioning of the Luca app as a digitization service and payment application for the catering trade.
On Wednesday, Culture4Life GmbH launched a service in Hamburg, Berlin and Rostock that guests can use to pay their bills without cash.
Restaurant visitors scan a QR code at their table and see their bill in the app, which can then be paid via smartphone.
Further digital services such as the acceptance of vouchers or integration into cash register systems are being developed and will follow soon, said Hennig.
Luca Pay is to be financed through transaction fees, which amount to 0.5 percent of sales plus five cents for each payment transaction.
The competition is great
The creators of the Luca app had previously raised 30 million euros in a round of financing to convert the application and implement the new business model.
With the new offer, Culture4Life competes against industry giants such as PayPal or Deutsche Telekom.
Telekom is cooperating with the start-up Enfore of the series founder Marco Börries.
The Luca app was originally developed to collect the contact details of restaurant guests and event visitors, which is required by most of the country’s infection protection regulations, in a data-protection-friendly and efficient manner.
A total of 13 federal states purchased Luca in spring 2021 for a total of more than 20 million euros.
The Luca system had repeatedly been the subject of severe criticism.
The opponents were particularly bothered by the concept of central data storage.
Groups such as the Chaos Computer Club warned of possible misuse of the data collected via the Luca system.
mbo/dpa