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Stuttgart (dpa) - Many people do not use the state corona warning app because they consider it unsuitable in the fight against the pandemic.
This is the result of a nationwide survey on behalf of the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg, which is available to the German Press Agency.
33 percent of the non-users stated that the app was of no use.
"That shows how important it is that we increase functionality," said Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens).
The app is far from reaching its full potential.
In the survey, only 36 percent of the slightly more than 1,000 respondents said they had installed and activated the app at all.
58 percent said no. 6 percent said they did not own a smartphone.
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There are many reasons for not taking the program:
- 19 percent of non-users cite concerns about data protection and privacy or a feeling of surveillance as reasons.
- According to their own statements, 16 percent have a smartphone on which the app cannot be installed.
15 percent say the app doesn't work technically or that it needs too much storage space.
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- 13 percent cite the reason for not having sufficiently dealt with the topic.
10 percent said they did not use the app because nobody used it in their own environment.
- 17 percent simply don't want to use the app.
The Corona warning app for smartphones has been available in Germany since mid-June.
In addition to hygiene and distance rules, the software is considered a key in the fight against chains of infection.
According to Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU), 22 million people had downloaded the app by the beginning of November.
The application can measure whether mobile phone users have come closer than two meters to each other for a longer period of time.
If a user has tested positive and has shared this in the app, the software warns other users that they have been near an infected person.
So far, infected users have to actively consent to their risk contacts being informed via the app.
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Those who use the app cite health protection as the decisive reason:
- 72 percent have an eye on their own health - but this puts self-protection clearly above protection of family, friends and acquaintances (55 percent).
- 33 percent of those surveyed want to relieve the health authorities by using the app and facilitate contact tracking.
- Social pressure as a motivating factor is also not insignificant: 30 percent of users state that they use the app because everyone should use it - or because many in their own environment do so.
The Baden-Württemberg state government has initiated a federal-state working group to improve the app.
From the point of view of Prime Minister Kretschmann, the survey shows how important it is to readjust - by increasing functionality or making the app compatible with older cell phones.
The app will be crucial for maintaining a stable condition over a long period of time in spring and summer - as long as not enough people have been vaccinated, said the Green politician.
15 percent of those surveyed have installed the app because they expect additional benefits from it - this segment has hardly been used so far, according to the State Ministry.
Further functions of the app could ensure a greater influx.
The new update contains a contact diary, for example.
Encounters and places can be noted in it voluntarily - a reminder for tracking chains of infection.
The app's acceptance is not only based on a high level of data protection, but also on useful functionality and real added value for users, said Kretschmann.
The core of the app remains the anonymized warning of other users about risk contacts.
The state government advocates obtaining consent for forwarding from the app users during the corona test so that the result can be automatically forwarded directly from the app in an emergency.
Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) and Saarland's Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) are also promoting better forwarding.
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North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) called at the end of November to increase the utility of the app for citizens with new functions such as local information on the infection situation on site.
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) even called the app a “toothless tiger” in October.
"I would like the federal government to get a little more speed into implementation," said Kretschmann.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201230-99-848963 / 3
Information on the app's new contact diary
Survey on the Corona warning app