Canada’s COVID Alert App Is Now Available To Download

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Canada’s new COVID Alert App is now available and the Ontario government is encouraging people to voluntarily download the app on their smartphones from the Apple and Google Play app stores.

Officials say the app uses Bluetooth to detect when users are near each other and sends out encrypted codes to other nearby app users.

If someone tests positive for COVID-19, the province says that person can choose to let other users know without sharing any personal information such as the identities, time, or place of exposure.

The province says users will receive an exposure alert message if they have been detected as having been “within two metres of [the positive case] for at least 15 minutes within the past 14 days.”

Those who receive an exposure alert can then find information on next steps they can take, the province says, such as how to get tested and how to “take action to help keep themselves, their families, and their friends from spreading COVID-19 throughout the community.”

Provincial officials say the app does not collect personal information or health data, and does not know or track the location, name, address, or contacts of any user.

“This important, made-in-Ontario COVID Alert app will be a critical part of our case and contact management strategy as more regions in Ontario enter Stage 3 today,” said Premier Doug Ford. “As businesses open their doors and schools prepare for September, we need to help stop the spread and keep others safe by downloading this COVID Alert app.”

The province says the app was developed in consultation with the Privacy Commissioners of Canada and Ontario to ensure the highest level of privacy for everyone using it.

You can learn more or download the app from the province’s COVID App webpage.