StayAway Covid is now available

StayAway Covid is the name of the application developed in Portugal for smartphones, now available for download from the App Store and Google Play, which aims to assist the country in tracking COVID-19. This app was developed by INESC TEC and ISPUP, with the support of Keyruptive and Ubirider, and is a project funded by FCT, through the INCoDe initiative, and monitored by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Higher Education, the Ministry of Economy and Digital Transition, and the Ministry of Health.

The app, available in Portuguese and English, allows each of us to be informed about possible exposure to the disease in a simple and secure way, by monitoring recent contacts. The app is voluntary and free to use and works without any access to the user's identity or personal data, ensuring anonymity at all times.

As soon as the user installs the application, the mobile phone announces its presence to all nearby devices, using random identifiers that do not reveal personal identities. The information shared between devices allows StayAway Covid to identify which phones were nearby, how close they were, and for how long, enabling an assessment of the degree of exposure of users to the SARS-CoV-2 virus (new coronavirus), which may be "No record of high risk of contagion" or "High risk of contagion alert." The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that contact with someone with COVID-19 at a distance of less than 2 meters for more than 15 minutes should be considered a high risk of contagion.

If the user has contracted COVID-19, when they receive the diagnosis they also receive a numerical code to enter into the application, which anonymously communicates this data to the system and allows the StayAway Covid application to immediately and safely alert all users who may have been exposed, even before they have had any symptoms. No one's identity is ever revealed to anyone.

Since August 28, when it was made available, the StayAway Covid app has been downloaded around 100,000 times.