The StopCovid app was launched in early June. Two months later, its record is weak: downloaded 2.3 million times, this app set up by the government has only allowed 72 at-risk contacts to be notified, according to figures provided on Wednesday by the Directorate General of Health .
The application “has been downloaded nearly 2.3 million times, on Android and Apple platforms, since it went live on June 2. To date, 1,169 QR codes have been used and 72 risky contacts notified ”, specified the DGS.
Very low usage
The difference between the number of people who report being infected by scanning the QR code provided during a positive screening test and the number of notifications sent can be explained by the still very low use of the application in the population or in the entourage of the infected person, or because this one did not install it until after having received the result of its test.
“The application is effective when a person and their contacts have it. (…) Using StopCovid can be particularly useful in areas where the virus is actively circulating ”and in popular places such as bars and restaurants, assures the Ministry of Solidarity and Health, which“ obviously encourages all French people to download the application ”.
A controversial system
The principle of the StopCovid application is to use Bluetooth wireless technology to detect and keep track of all people crossed for a long time during the last 15 days at less than one meter, before warning them in the event of contamination. .
The system is controversial, both in principle and in the technical choices made by the government, its opponents considering in particular that it is not sufficiently useful in view of the risks it entails, for example concerning data protection. personal. The French application is also incompatible with most European tracking applications, which are based on a technological solution offered by Apple and Google.
The personal data gendarme, the CNIL, at the end of July put the government on notice to settle “several irregularities” on the application within a month and to comment on the effectiveness of the application in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic.
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