The Quebec government has launched a public consultation regarding the upcoming launch of a COVID-19 contact tracing app.
This comes as the federal government is getting ready to roll out a voluntary nationwide contact tracing app called ‘COVID Alert.’ Quebec outlines that this public consultation makes it “one of the rare states to sound out public opinion in this respect.”
“The Government of Québec is considering making available to its citizens, who have a smartphone, a mobile application that would help reduce the spread of COVID-19, by informing them, anonymously, that they have been in contact with an infected person,” the consultation page reads.
Quebecers can access the consultation through the government’s website and sign in to submit their answers to the survey.
The first question in the survey asks if “the general presentation of the mobile application allows you to understand how it works?” Other questions ask if you are confident in the effectiveness of a contact tracing app, and if you have concerns about it. It also asks if you would download the app.
The app to be released by the government in the coming weeks, uses Apple and Google’s ‘Exposure Notification System,’ which uses Bluetooth technology to share randomized codes with other nearby smartphones, which can’t identify users.
Other smartphones are then able to access these codes and check for matches against the codes stored on devices.
The government has stressed that the app will be completely voluntary, and it is up to Canadians to decide if they want to download it, but that the app will be most effective if as many people as possible use it.
Although the app was originally scheduled to launch in Ontario on July 2nd, the government delayed the release for unknown reasons, and has not provided a new launch date.
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
