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COVIDSafe now has improved notifications and supports 2 new languages
COVIDSafe now has improved notifications
and supports 2 new languages
22 August 2020
Tags:
COVID-19 (/taxonomy/term/413) Content design (/taxonomy/term/52)
Privacy (/taxonomy/term/251) Security (/taxonomy/term/14)
COVIDSafe (/taxonomy/term/419)
The latest update to COVIDSafe provides improved notifications and allows users to use the
app in Turkish and Punjabi.
Since launch, the DTA—with the support of users and the tech community—has made iterative
enhancements to the app focusing on performance, privacy and accessibility.
The Australian community can have confidence that their privacy and security is protected, and
we encourage all Australians to download and use, or upgrade the app to help fight the spread
of COVID-19.
COVIDSafe is an important tool that supports the meticulous and dedicated work of Australia’s
manual contact tracers. We know it works. It has been used to quickly find and notify close
contacts that were unknown to the person who tested positive.
COVIDSafe is now available in Turkish and Punjabi, in addition to Arabic, Cantonese, Greek,
Italian, Korean, Mandarin and Vietnamese. This provides over two million Australians with
better usability and experience of the app.
In this release, we have improved notifications to alert users to any matters requiring their
attentions, including availability of new versions of the app.
As with all other releases, we have made the source code available for review.
Update details
Android location permissions
COVIDSafe has been built with security and privacy by design. COVIDSafe does not track a
user’s location and recent media reporting to that effect is incorrect.
COVIDSafe has been subject to some of the most stringent privacy requirements applied to a
government service. It is against the law for COVIDSafe to collect location data from
individuals. The source code and reviews from independent security, academic and technical
advisers have confirmed that it does not collect location information.
Working with the tech community, the DTA continues to update the app to resolve issues and
improve Bluetooth performance. One such improvement in the most recent update changed
the level of location permission requested to use Bluetooth on Android devices.
In an earlier update to the Android operating system, Google introduced changes to how it
handles location permissions as a privacy improvement. These changes mean that apps such as
COVIDSafe must declare the type of location permission (‘fine’ or ‘coarse’) they use.
The activation of Location Services and Bluetooth Services have been bundled together and, as
a result, a permission request is presented to a user to activate Location Services. This applies
to COVIDSafe, even though it does not use Bluetooth to gather any sort of location and the
Location Services feature on Android devices is not used.
COVIDSafe users with an Android device can have confidence that their privacy is protected
and no location data is being accessed and should grant location permissions to access
Bluetooth for the COVIDSafe app.
Improved notifications to assist users to troubleshoot issues
This release continues to improve notification services to help ensure the app is working
effectively.
This includes notifications that advise users when there is a new version of the app and prompt
them to update. When users have the latest version of the app they benefit from the newest
improvements.
The improved notifications will also help users troubleshoot the app to quickly diagnose and
fix performance issues that may arise from permissions settings such as Bluetooth and battery
optimisation.
Turkish and Punjabi Translations
COVIDSafe is now available in Turkish and Punjabi. This is in addition to the 7 translations
introduced in previous releases: Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Italian, Korean, Mandarin and
Vietnamese. These languages represent nine of the most spoken languages in Australia other
than English.
We have also simplified the selection of language in the app. If your device is set to any of the
supported languages, the app will automatically translate into your selected language.
The “change language option” in the app links users to a help topic with further guidance on
this process.
The COVIDSafe website (https://covidsafe.gov.au/) now also includes help topics in Turkish and
Punjabi, as well as the other translated languages. Users can access these translated help topics
directly from the app.
The CO
VIDSafe user guide has also been translated into 63 languages
(https://www.health.gov.au/resources/translated/coronavirus-covid-19-user-guide-to-
download-the-covidsafe-app). The user guide provides information on downloading and
registering COVIDSafe, and how to make sure it is working correctly.
Privacy Improvements
We have again strengthened privacy aspects of the app, working with the technology
community on several fixes.
We have provided improved guidance and made it easier for Android users to change the
name of their device, which is visible when using Bluetooth, from within the COVIDSafe app.
This is a privacy enhancement for users. COVIDSafe does not collect the device name.
We have improved our encryption so that old information cannot be reused by a malicious
actor.
COVIDSafe is a system
COVIDSafe is a combination of the COVIDSafe app that users have installed on their mobile
device and the Health Portal that State and Territory health officials (contact tracers) use to
identify close contacts.
While there has been much focus on the app and iOS Bluetooth performance, we have also
made a range of significant changes across the whole COVIDSafe ecosystem to enhance the
contact tracing process.
This includes improvements to the system that state and territory health officials use to
undertake contact tracing, such as making it easier for health officials to interpret uploaded
data, and quickly find close contacts. The app and system components are working together to
improve the overall performance of COVIDSafe, and are a distinguishing feature of the
COVIDSafe system.
The Australian community can have confidence the app is working securely and effectively.
Source code update and next release
We have updated the publicly available application source code in line with today’s release.
To make sure continue to engage with the technology community, people can provide direct
feedback within the
source code repository (https://covidsafe.gov.au/app-code-terms-and-
conditions.html).
We are currently working on the next update to the COVIDSafe app, which we plan to release
in a couple of weeks.
Visit the COVIDSafe website (https://covidsafe.gov.au/) for more information or to
access the application source code.
For media enquiries email us at xxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx (mailto:xxxxx@xxx.xxx.xx)
For other enquiries email us at
xxxx@xxx.xxx.xx (mailto:xxxx@xxx.xxx.xx)
© Commonwealth of Australia. With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms and
where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under the CC BY 4.0 license.
