The success of TousAntiCovid has nothing to do with Stop Covid

TousAntiCovid has crossed the 30 million “downloads and activations” mark, which is a sign of the app’s true success. But to achieve this, the government had to drastically change its tool since the release of Stopkovit at the end of the first regulation.

On June 2, 2020, after lengthy discussions on its technical and ethical foundations, the government used its contact tracking application, Stop Cov. The Government presented it as essential for the good progress of the First Reconstruction. The purpose of the tool is to automatically identify contaminating clusters and duplicate the detection of human interactions carried out by Govt. In other words, she should warn of contact cases and recommend that they go into isolation and be tested as soon as possible to avoid the spread of the disease.

# COVID-19 | 30 million French people download and process #TousAntiCovid. Cow

Cow https://t.co/ctkqNTIb7m pic.twitter.com/kG5dZslSfM

– TousAntiCovid (ousTousAntiCovid) August 17, 2021

After 14 months, Stop Govt is called DosAntigovit, and the government proudly announces that it has crossed 30 million on its social networks. Downloads and Activities Of the 67 million population of the application, this figure equates to an adoption rate of more than 40%. At best, compared to the 47 million French and French owners of a smartphone (i.e. the share of the population that can download the app), the rate exceeds the adoption score of 70%. Admittedly, the account leaves some gray areas – can the same smartphone download the app multiple times? – But they can only qualify a little for these impressive figures. And, even outside of this communication tutorial, TousAntiCovid’s popularity is obvious: it has been on top of app downloads for years on the Android Playstore and iPhone App Store.

Did the government win the Stopkovit race? Yes and No: TousAntiCovid’s undeniable success is not the success of the original communication tracking application, but the change in strategy in the development of the tool. To understand that, we need to reverse the path of application, which led to it becoming a box for government tools.

Communication tracking application failure

On paper, the Stopcovit function seemed relatively simple: all the smartphones that installed it could communicate with each other (via Bluetooth) and record their interactions through a protocol. Protect user identity. If one of the participants in the device declares that the application is positive for Covit-19 (thanks to the QR code provided by Health Insurance), then Stopcovit will send an alert to all his contact cases. Apparently, owners of smartphones ” Less than a meter “From a Sick Person” At least fifteen minutes Defined in a contact case (these criteria will be re-evaluated later). When it comes out, the only feature of the app is this contact tracking. Its interface provides only one button, which allows you to enable and disable it.

But the application did not fulfill its mission. Downloaded nearly 2 million times in the month of launch, this app only sends 14 alerts. Summer 2020 has passed, but as thousands of users decide to uninstall the tool, the Stopkovit record is hungry. At the beginning of the September school year, the App sent out less than 200 announcements: Prime Minister Jean Costex half-heartedly conceded defeat; Digital Secretary of State Cedric O’Brien reiterates that if the application saves even one life, it will fulfill its role; Health Minister Olivier Varan still invites you to download the application. Together, the government explains the failure with a key argument: very few French people have downloaded the processor effectively. Because interpersonal interactions are not recorded, the system loses its interest without the specific critical limit of users.

Less contact case notice per positive case

The government’s argument can be heard, but the device is above all affected by the effects of a long list of technical issues that prevent its proper functioning. For example, Bluetooth – the application’s communication algorithms – is not inherently accurate in measuring the distance between two users, although it is necessary to define the communication case. Another limitation: the app does not work on iOS, so on all iPhones.

These issues, inherent in StopCovid (hence in TousAntiCovid) are still reflected today despite the massive use of the device: 421,000 cases were reported positively, and the application sent less than 307,000 contact case notifications. In other words, less than one contact case per positive person is an unrealistic situation.

Government Swiss military knife TousAntiCovid is successful

Instead of abandoning the Stopkovit project, the government decided to change it. In the opening words, we talk about this “Swing” Its function is to find another model, often closer, but more effective. The government did just that with the launch of Dos Antigovit in mid-October 2020.

The name change was with new features. Gone are the days when the application was used only for contact tracking: the required information center at that time and included the automatic generator of contempt travel certificates. The government places a large ecosystem around the communication tracker, after which it will continue to strengthen.

TousAntiCovid has been further diversified since the curfew order ended and some locations closed in early June 2021. It integrates a second contact tracking device that must scan QR-codes when passing specific locations. Despite the significant advertising campaign – the system – mandatory for companies, but optional for audiences – was ultimately not used much.

TousAntiCovid is a wallet for health passes

This is another important, very important, success of TousAntiCovid: the arrival of the health bass. For travel and travel to specific destinations, the PASS confirms a person’s complete vaccination or negative test result within 48 hours. It takes the form of a QR code, which can be verified using a smartphone and a second application called TousAntiCovid-Verif.

So the government has decided to make TousAntiCovid the official wallet to run this pass. In other words, the application provides all anti-Govt certificates in a dedicated tab. Of course, it is always possible to provide a paper copy of the QR-code or attach it to your smartphone. On Amelie To retrieve the certificate. But TousAntiCovid greatly regulates the issuance of bass, which is now required in many companies. And it is an essential application.

The use of PASS, QR code system or information center can be done without activating the contact tracking function. The original Stop Covid system is now immersed in other features that users prefer. But at least government utility has found its usefulness and the success that goes with it. This is not Stop Govt.

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