A new smartphone app is tracking down COVID-19 to help keep users safe

A new app is using smartphone location and mapping features to help people in Germany and Switzerland to reduce the risk of infection by the coronavirus.

The “geoHealthApp” was developed and is fully owned by GeoHealthApp gGmbH, a Hanover, Germany, based non-profit company formed to help contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The Z Zurich Foundation, Zurich’s charitable foundation, gave a one-off donation to support the development of the app

“The key technology used in this app is geolocation tracking,” said Ibrahim Bölükbas, Cofounder of geoHealthApp “Once the user gives consent, the app can access the GPS-based location function of the smartphone. Location data is logged anonymously on a rolling basis for 14 days.” Any data point is deleted two weeks after it was logged.

With that information, the app can determine the likelihood that the user was in contact with infected persons over a 14-day period. If a doctor determines that a user has been infected, that person can make a “data donation” to the app’s database by submitting a medical report that will be verified and deleted immediately thereafter. Anonymity is guaranteed by GeoHealthApp gGmbH for all user information and GeoHealthApp has in place safeguards that adhere to applicable data security regulations.

The app also provides a symptom-checker function that asks for relevant symptoms and creates a profile of the user’s infection risk and health status, which can be updated to reflect changes in either.

Users are alerted to the risk of infection through a traffic-light system that is based on health status, social contacts and recent locations visited.

Once the COVID-19 crisis passes, the geoHealthApp will continue to be available, as it is easily modified to address other potential epidemics and pandemics. It can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store and the App Store in countries where it is available.

The app is available in German, English, French and Italian. Its developers are considering rolling it out in countries other than Germany and Switzerland.

“Supporting innovative ways of protecting and preventing goes to the heart of our purpose as a foundation and our promise to our communities,” said Mark Heasman, Global Head of Engagement at the Z Zurich Foundation. “The geoHealthApp is one solution that can help communities contain further COVID-19 infections. It is not a single solution to this crisis but will be an additional measure along with others such as social distancing and increased attention to personal hygiene.”