Permanently active

The latest version 1.1.1 of Corona-Warn-App remedies a problem with the automatic background updating encountered by some Android devices. In future users of these smartphones will no longer have to open the Corona-Warn-App for the risk identification process to be activated.

What you should know: Even without the background updating process, the Corona-Warn-App exchanges temporary encrypted random codes with other smartphones to ensure that contacts can be traced. As soon as the app is opened on a smartphone, the background updating process is activated. This involves comparing all codes saved, and checking whether any contacts involve a risk of infection.

Some Android smartphone manufacturers prevent apps running constantly in the background on their devices. They do so, for instance, to stop an app draining the battery. The background updating process of the app involves comparing all anonymous codes saved with a server to check whether any of the contacts have tested positive for COVID-19. If the background updating is turned off, this does not happen automatically in the background, but only when the user actually opens the app. The problem was already known and users have hitherto been able to resolve it by changing the device settings.

What does the update mean for you?

The update of the Corona-Warn-App to version 1.1.1. will allow you to use a sliding button to switch the app to permanently active mode. This is how it works. In the app settings just activate "Prioritised background activity". This will override the manufacturer’s restrictions and the app will automatically communicate with the server in the background.

Restrictions imposed by the operating system on the automatic warning function for iOS devices have now also been lifted. You will find more information on the Federal Ministry of Health website.

"Everyone who uses it makes a difference"

Since the app was first launched six weeks ago, more than 16 million people have downloaded it. The app is working well – as is the case in all new developments, there are technical challenges to be overcome, pointed out a statement issued jointly on Sunday by Helge Braun, Head of the Federal Chancellery, Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn, Deutsche Telekom AG’s CEO Timotheus Höttges and SAP SE’s CEO Christian Klein.

The app helps inform users that they have had a contact with someone who has tested positive, thus breaking infection chains at an early state, says the statement. "We aim to convince even more people that the app is helpful, because it is an important tool in our efforts to combat the pandemic. Everyone who uses it, makes a difference. "

Every update improves the app

The update to  version 1.1.1. brings other improvements too. The most extensive innovation is the new Turkish version of the app. Since Wednesday it has been possible to download the Corona-Warn-App free of charge in Turkish from the App Store and Google Play. 

Descriptions have been optimised to make them easier to understand. Now the app says "Updated every 24 hours" rather than "Updated once a day". The "14 days of 14 active" has been replaced by "Exposure logging permanently active". And new information is available about the way the risk identification works.

Click here for FAQs about the Corona-Warn-App.