What will the StopCovid application look like?

The government application StopCovid still has to go through several stages, both technical, regulatory and also political. In the meantime, we already know some things.

The app is expected to be tested starting the week of May 11, and then officially launched on June 2. The Secretary of State for Digital, Cédric O, announced this Tuesday, May 5 on BFM Business. It will not be compulsory; however, for it to be of any use, as many people as possible would need to use it. It will only work on recent smartphones, and again for the iPhone it may be complicated because you will probably have to keep the application open at all times.

This is because the government refused, for so-called “digital sovereignty” reasons, to use the system proposed by Apple and Google. Instead, the French authorities would like to be able to directly access the bluetooth functions of the iPhone. Unsurprisingly, the side of the brand with the apple, we answer that it is not question.

Private competing apps

In the meantime, we are seeing other diverse and varied anti-Covid applications flourish. These are private applications, created by different organizations that have taken the lead. Like, for example, the AnSamb application, developed on Reunion Island, which works much like StopCovid. There are also applications, and even connected objects such as electronic bracelets, which are offered by specialized companies to meet the needs of businesses, these being required to ensure the safety of their employees after the 11th. may. Oddly enough, there seems to be a lot of eagerness to use these applications, which contrasts with all the theoretical debates, moreover, on issues of privacy.

Foreign apps

Finally, beware of the applications currently available on the Apple and Google stores. This is the case, for example, of a Spanish application (Stop Covid 19) and a Georgian application (Stop Covid). You are advised not to use these applications because they do not necessarily offer the mandatory guarantees in France in terms of data processing. Better to wait for the official French application which, moreover, may not be called StopCovid.