After a long back and forth, the German Corona-Warn-App is now available. Here you can download it from the App Store.
The long wait for the app is also due to the fact that there were long discussions about data security. In the end, the proponents of a decentralized storage model prevailed. Many data protectionists and experts praise this explicitly, because it makes it impossible to track your whereabouts or contacts. Corresponding information is only stored on the respective end devices. Although this information is exchanged via a central server, it cannot be interpreted there. Fortunately, reason has prevailed. Here is an overview for the model and here is some background information about the technical structure.
The app is based on the interface of Apple and Google in their respective operating systems. Here we have already described how to enable and disable the corresponding interface in iOS. The minimum iOS version for this function is 13.5. The app’s source code is freely available.
The interface itself looks good and hopefully works as promised. Practice will show if the permanent use of Bluetooth will influence the battery life. We assume that this will be the case to a rather small extent. Apple always pays extreme attention to economy when it comes to battery life and you may assume that no exception has been made here.
For Corona Tracking you only have to install the app and release the contact log in iOS – done. The software runs in the background and notifies you if you had contact with an infected person. If you are that person, you can tell us in your app after a diagnosis. In order to avoid any nonsense with this function, this is only possible with an official verification. For this purpose, a QR code, a numerical code or, in the old-fashioned way, a call to a hotline are provided.
