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Status: 10.02.2021 10:00 am
The functions of the Corona warning app have been significantly expanded. Starting today, the app can be installed on older iPhones as well. In addition, the encounter history was expanded.
By Dominik Lauck,
tagesschau.de
When the federal government’s official Corona warning app was released last June, owners of older smartphones were very disappointed – the app failed to install on many devices that were released five or more years ago. The iOS 13.5 operating system had to be installed on the iPhone, which was only available for iPhone 6s or iPhone SE devices. That is changing now.
With version 1.12, the app is also compatible with the older iOS 12.5 operating system. This allows owners of older devices, such as iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus, to install the app. The developers estimate that 1.7 million of these devices are still in use in Germany.
A few months ago, Apple provided the necessary technical interface, the so-called Exposure Notification Framework, for iOS 12.5. The smartphone manufacturer responded to the request to change the special Bluetooth interface so that even more iPhone models that previously can run the application.
Encounter history has been expanded
With the new update, an encounter history has also been added to the contact diary. “This allows users to better assess their own risk to which they were exposed,” explains Hanna Heine of the SAP software group, which developed the application together with Deutsche Telekom. Since until now the date of the last encounter could only be seen in the case of several risk encounters, the days of the other encounters can now also be searched in the encounter history.
The Corona warning app had already expanded significantly in recent weeks. Since January, current figures on vaccination events in Germany and on the use of the app are displayed in a statistics area.
A contact diary was compiled in late December. Encounters with people or places visited can be entered there voluntarily. In case of infection, the list can be sent to the health department, also on a voluntary basis.
App usage increases
So far, the app has been downloaded more than 25 million times. Experts estimate that it is actively used by around 23 million people. Over 232,000 positive test results were shared through the app. With 15 relevant contacts per user, around 3.5 million people would have been warned, according to a bill from the head of the chancellery, Helge Braun. More and more users share the positive results of their tests. While the rate was initially only around 40 percent, it has now risen to nearly 60 percent.
The latest update of the application will be available for download gradually over several days. IOS users can now download the current version manually from the Apple app store. Google Play Store does not offer the ability to initiate a manual update for Android phones. The app should be available there for the next 48 hours, as requested by the developers at tagesschau.de informed.
More updates are planned
More functional expansions are planned for the next few weeks. A voluntary user survey will be integrated in which users can express their opinion on possible data donations. The exchange of infection codes with Switzerland should be possible in March. Until now, the system has been exchanging data with Ireland, Italy, Spain, Latvia, Croatia, Denmark, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Finland.
In addition to Switzerland, Malta, Slovenia, Lithuania, Portugal, Austria and Cyprus are expected to join in the first quarter. The Czech Republic, Estonia and Greece are in further planning, he said. National Corona apps in Great Britain and France, on the other hand, are not supported because they are not based on the Apple and Google interfaces.
