Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has defended the decision for a high level of data protection for the Corona warning app. This is very important for the acceptance of the app, said Merkel on Thursday in Berlin. “A corona warning app for far fewer users with less data protection would not be good either.”

Your government opted for the decentralized approach, which illustrated the function of the app using an example, said Merkel. If someone sat on the tram who later tested positive for the corona virus, the people who were there in their vicinity would be warned via their apps – provided that the infected person reports their infection in the app. This is done anonymously.

“Would not be supported by Apple” If this anonymization were not used, the cell phone numbers of all who were in the vicinity, visible and these people could be called by the health department. “I don’t know whether it would relieve the health authorities that much,” said Merkel. In addition, the government must work with the providers of the operating systems on the smartphones and observe their data protection precautions. With a central approach, an app would have to be set up completely differently. Such an app would then run with high power consumption and would not be supported by Apple.

According to the Federal Ministry of Health, the Corona warning app has recorded over 25 Millions of downloads and, according to estimates by experts, is actively used by around 23 million people.

(anw)