The federal government launched the new COVID-19 alert app last week, and if you are considering downloading the app to your phone, here are some things you should know.
COVID Alert uses Bluetooth technology to register when devices with the app may come into proximity with one another, and works in the background of users’ phones. As long as the Bluetooth function is on, users will be able to be notified.
Health authorities in Ontario will be the first to begin distributing unique codes to people who test positive for COVID-19.
When that code is entered into the app, it will notify other users who may have come into close contact with that person in the previous 14 days and provide them with guidance on what they should do next.
The app considers close contact being an interaction that lasts at least 15 minutes and occurs at less than two metres apart, which will be determined by the strength of the signal from each device within that interaction.
It uses anonymized data that does not collect users’ location, name or address, phone contacts, or health information.
The notification users will receive if they may have come into contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case, lets them know they are at risk of being infected and prompts them to contact their local public health agency to determine next steps.
