It was an important tool for fighting the pandemic, and now it is being phased out: starting tomorrow, the developers will switch off the main functions of the Corona warning app, and it will then go into “sleep mode” in June.
The warning function of the federal corona warning app, which has been used millions of times, will be discontinued. As announced by the Federal Ministry of Health, the detection of encounters with other active Corona warning app systems is to be deactivated on Monday.
As of May 1st, it will therefore no longer be possible to warn people after a positive test and to receive a red warning after “risk encounters”.
Warning app goes into “sleep mode”
In view of the more relaxed Corona situation, the app is to be put into “sleep mode” on June 1 and will no longer be updated for the time being. But you can keep them on your cell phone to continue using electronic vaccination certificates and the contact diary.
However, no further certificates can be added or existing certificates renewed. Users also no longer receive notifications about their certificates. The Corona warning app should be available in the Apple and Google app stores up to and including May 31, 2023.
Almost 50 million downloads
The Corona-Warn-App is a success not only for its developers, but also for Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach. Since it was launched on June 16, 2020, the app has been downloaded more than 48 million times and up to 35 million people have actively used the application.
In total, there were a good nine million people who used the app to issue more than 270 million warnings after a positive test. The distance and duration of encounters between smartphones with an installed app were determined. According to the ministry, the app can be “wakened up” from sleep mode promptly if the pandemic situation becomes more critical again.