Over a million Australians have downloaded the coronavirus contact tracing app within hours of it being released by the government.
The COVIDSafe smartphone app uses a Bluetooth wireless signal to exchange a “digital handshake” with another user when they come within 1.5m.
The app then logs this contact and encrypts it.
Users will be notified if they have had more than 15 minutes of close contact with another user who tests positive.
Australia has recorded 6,694 confirmed coronavirus cases and 80 deaths from the virus, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
“As at 10:30 PM, 1 million Australians have now downloaded and registered for the COVIDSafe app,” Mr. Hunt tweeted.
Australian PM Scott Morrison has said social restrictions could be eased if enough people use the app. The government has said that for maximum effectiveness, some 40% of the population would need to download it.
The data of all the smartphones will be stored in Australia, and “not even a court order” would allow other authorities such as the police to access it.
All the data would be wiped after 21 days, or when someone deleted the app from their phone.
