Using the SwissCovid app is voluntary and free of
charge. The more people who install and use the app, the more
effectively the app can help us to contain the new coronavirus.
SwissCovid app and contact tracing
Contact tracing is used to identify people who have been in close contact with people who have been infected with the coronavirus. The SwissCovid app supports this process: it establishes whether we have been in close physical contact with someone who is infected. That way, we can break the chains of transmission.
SwissCovid app helps to break transmission chains more quickly
The SwissCovid app for mobile phones (Android/iPhone) will help to contain the new coronavirus. It complements the conventional contact tracing carried out by the cantons – and thereby helps to break the chains of transmission. The SwissCovid app is available in the Apple Store and Google Play Store.
Download the SwissCovid app
Please download and install the SwissCovid app from the normal app
stores, even if you have already installed the pilot version. It will be
updated by the new download. The data will not be deleted.
However, we must all continue to follow with the rules on hygiene and social distancing. With a combination of the SwissCovid app, contact tracing and following the rules, we can continue to contain the new coronavirus.
How does the SwissCovid app work?
Install the SwissCovid app on your Apple or Android smartphone. All you then need to do is switch on Bluetooth and have your phone with you at all times.
When within Bluetooth range, the mobile phone exchanges random IDs
(identification code) with other mobile phones that have a compatible
app installed. The random IDs are stored on the mobile phone for 14 days
before being deleted automatically. Apps compatible with the SwissCovid
app are similar apps from other countries (e.g. Germany’s Corona-Warn
app). The random IDS of those using apps from other countries are
currently stored, but it is not possible to receive notifications via
these apps.
How notification works
If a SwissCovid app user tests positive for the coronavirus, they receive a Covidcode from the cantonal authorities. The code allows them to activate the notification function in the app, thereby warning app users that came into close contact with the infected person in the period starting two days before that person first experienced symptoms of the disease. When the code is entered, the app notifies these other app users automatically. The identity of the person who triggered the notification is not revealed. However, it is possible that someone could work out the identity based on the date.
A notification is triggered if the app user has spent at least 15 minutes at a distance of under 1.5 metres from at least one infected person within a 24-hour period. It is possible for someone to be under 1.5 metres away from several infected individuals for less than 15 minutes within the space of a day. As these encounters may exceed a total of 15 minutes, the Swiss Covid app will notify the app user that there is a risk of infection.
The people who have been notified can then call the infoline number in the app and find out what to do next. Their privacy is maintained at all times. If a person who has been notified has already developed symptoms of the disease, they should stay at home, avoid contact with other people, and do the coronavirus check or call their doctor.
By working together in this way, we can all help to break the chains of infection.
Protecting privacy
Data about other users recorded by your mobile phone is only saved locally on the device. Neither the mobile phone nor the SwissCovid app sends any personal or location data to a central storage location or server. This means that no one can work out who you have been in contact with or where that contact took place.
Once the coronavirus crisis is over, or if the app proves to be ineffective, the system will be shut down.
Further information
Legal position
Before the SwissCovid app could be launched, the Epidemics Act had to
be amended. To do this, the Federal Council submitted a bill to
Parliament. In its June session, Parliament approved the statutory
provisions relating to the app, making only minor changes to the draft
legislation. This regulates organisational and operational matters, the
processed data and using the app. Parliament approved the amendment to
the Act on 19 June 2020.
Free testing on notification
Parliament has decided that anyone who has been notified by the
SwissCovid app that they may be infected with the coronavirus is
entitled to be tested free of charge.
Compensation for loss of earnings related to coronavirus measures
You will find information on this topic on the FSIO website (in German, French or Italian).
Security test
IT specialists and various groups of people have comprehensively
tested how well the SwissCovid app works and its data security levels in
a pilot phase. The National Cybersecurity Centre (NCSC) has assessed
the test results and arranged the modifications to the app that are
required.
You will find further information on the security test for the SwissCovid systems (Public Security Test: SwissCovid Proximity Tracing System) the NCSC/MELANI website.
Producer
The SwissCovid app system has been developed on behalf of and in cooperation with the FOPH by the Federal Office for Information Technology and Telecommunications FOITT, the Federal Institutes of Technology in Zurich (ETH) and Lausanne (EPFL) and the Swiss company Ubique.
