How does the COVID Alert app work?

The lifestyle software runs in the background without interfering with your phone’s other activities. It uses Bluetooth technology to identify other users. Once you’re near someone with the same app, the phones will exchange a random code every five minutes. The user will only get an alert that another user is nearby and will not be able to identify where you are or who you are. 

COVID Alert will record an interaction as an ‘exposure’ if you’re two metres away from another user for at least fifteen minutes. In the case of users diagnosed with COVID-19, you can choose to upload the random code your phone sent from the last fourteen days.  The server will only collect the code, so people will not be able to pinpoint your location or other information about you. 

You will also be asked for permission to share your codes with the central server for 13 days after. An internet connection will allow this app to receive a list of random codes from other COVID Alert users who reported a positive result for coronavirus. The app will find a matching code; once you’ve received a match, it will notify you that you’ve been possibly exposed to the virus and explains what to do next. 

Break the cycle of infection