STOP COVID

The application helps all of us to safely lift the harshest restrictions related to the pandemic. The more we use it, the faster and more effectively we will reduce the rate and range of the spread of the coronavirus. It also provides professional help to both healthy and infected people.

Our application uses the API developed by Apple and Google and has two main functions:

• first – the application analyzes the user’s surroundings. When the user of another phone which was met by your phone falls ill, you get the relevant information. You don’t find out who got sick. You find out how to behave and what to do to take care of your health,
• second – the application allows you perform self-checks to monitor your health. It's a kind of “log” that allows you to verify on an ongoing basis whether you are in an infection-risk group and which group it is. It is based on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) guidelines.

Take, for example, Alice (A) and Bart (B) – two people who have downloaded the application.

1. Alice and Bart meet and spend time together in close proximity (according to guidelines published by WHO and Chief Sanitary Inspectorate).
2. Alice's device remembers (but does not send anywhere) Bart's device’s identifier. Similarly, Bart's device remembers the contact with Alice.
3. Within a maximum of 14 days of the meeting, Bart is tested positive for COVID-19.
4. Bart is called by an employee of the Contact Center who informs him about the test result and asks if he has the application. If so, Bart can (voluntarily) send the appropriate information to the devices of the people he has been in contact with. 
5. After 24 hours, Alice is notified that she has had contact with a sick person in the last 14 days (with no indication of who it was and exactly when the contact took place). With this information, Alice receives personalized medical advice and the phone number of the Contact Center.
6. Important – contact with an infected person does NOT mean that Alice is "automatically" put in home quarantine.

Use of the application is NOT mandatory. The application is voluntary, although we encourage everyone to use it. Its effectiveness, and thus our safety, depends on the number of people who use it.

The more of us, the better. As shown by studies, effective isolation of infected people and use of exposure notification applications (STOP COVID is an application of this type) can reduce the risk of coronavirus spread by up to several dozen percent. However, there is one condition - the application has to be used by the largest possible number of people. Therefore, download, install, and use STOP COVID.

Yes, the application is free.

It depends on the phone you are using. If you are using a phone with an Android system, you will find it in the Google Play store. If your smartphone uses the iOS system, look for it in the App Store.

While in the shop (Google Play or AppStore), enter the name of the application, i.e. STOP COVID, in the search field. After you find it, tap the “Install” button. The application will be installed on the main screen of your phone. You'll find it there. To start it, tap the application’s icon on your phone's main screen. The system will then tell you what to do next.

You do not need to log in to the application. You don't have to provide any personal information or even your phone number to run it.

Google Play (for Android phones) and App Store (for iOS phones) are secure application sources provided by Google and Apple, respectively.
Applications downloaded from those stores undergo a detailed verification in terms of security and proper operation. Store applications do not need to be installed as they are installed together with the operating system on every phone. You can find them on the main screen of your phone.

The application works on phones with the Android and iOS systems. It requires Android
6.0 or higher. It requires iOS 13.5 or higher. It is compatible with iPhone and iPod touch, as well as most Android devices.

Using the application does not involve processing your personal data. The application does not use them or collect them.

After the application is uninstalled, you will no longer receive any notifications of possible contacts with the coronavirus. You can of course reinstall it, but this means that you will lose your contact history.

If your phone is switched off/its battery is discharged, it does not scan the surroundings. In practice, this means that if you meet a sick person while your phone is switched off/its battery is discharged, you will not be informed of this fact.

If it turns out that one of the people you have been in contact with (registered by our phone in the last two weeks) is ill, the application will inform you about possible risks. IMPORTANT! The application does not provide information on who got sick.
On the other hand, it informs you that you are at risk and you should be quarantined.

The application does NOT track the user. No authentication, e.g. phone number, is required to activate it. The application does not spy on its user or collect or share the user’s data. The information about encountered devices does not contain any data about their owners, is anonymous and encrypted, and is only stored on the phone for two weeks. After that period, it is deleted. We encourage you to read the project documentation: https://github.com/ProteGO-Safe.

The application takes into account four factors:

1. Proximity to the contact (measured by the strength of the Bluetooth signal)
2. Duration of the contact (measured by the time when the devices “saw each other”)
3. The time elapsed since the contact (the more time has elapsed, the lower the risk)
4. Certainty of infection (in the case of STOP COVID this value is always maximum, because only positively diagnosed persons can identify themselves as sick).

Each encounter, in each category, is assigned a score from 1 to 8, and then they are (scores from each category) multiplied by each other (so the highest risk is 4096). Based on this result, the application informs the user about “low,” “medium,” or “high” risk of infection.
The thresholds for inclusion in the different risk categories are:

• Low: 0 to 1,499
• Medium: 1,500 to 2,999
• High: 3,000 to 4,096

The above values result from the recommendations of the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate and are updated on a regular basis.

Notifications of a change of the status to medium or high risk always come with a 24-hour delay. This is done to protect the anonymity of the infected persons. Information about contacting a sick person is never provided during a meeting with him or her.

No, you will not be “automatically” put in mandatory home quarantine. You will be given information on what to do or whom to contact.

The technology used by the application is calibrated to take into account several parameters, not just the distance. We are constantly working on minimizing the risk of false alarms.

Individuals in the high-risk group are encouraged to call the Contact Center immediately (according to the message displayed in the application), where a full epidemiological interview will be conducted. The Sanitary Inspectorate may decide to refer the person to testing, to put him or her in quarantine, or to implement other measures. Each case is considered individually.

You don't have to, but it's a good idea to do it regularly. Most importantly, make sure to give true answers to the questions. It's for your own safety.

No, you won't. Information about possible contact with an infected person is passed on to other users completely anonymously. There is no way to identify anyone based on this information.

No, they won't. Information about possible contact with an infected person is passed on to other users completely anonymously. There is no way to identify anyone based on this information.

The application is developed in compliance with the rules stemming from the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including data minimization, privacy by design, privacy by default, accuracy, integrity, and confidentiality.
We based our work on the guidelines of the European Data Protection Board, the European Commission, and the Toolbox developed within the European Commission’s eHealth network. We attach particular importance to ensuring the highest standards of privacy.

The key to the operation of the application is constantly enabled Bluetooth. It allows your device (phone) to communicate with the devices of other users of the application and vice versa.

Bluetooth does not connect to other devices constantly, but sends regular signals, which today works with pairing devices or handsfree sets.

From the infected person. That person who, fully anonymously, informs about the change in his or her health.

Data about encountered devices (anonymous identifiers) are stored only on your phone, for two weeks. They are encrypted there and are not sent anywhere.
We encourage you to read the project documentation: https://github.com/ProteGO-Safe.

No, the application does not give such permissions or other privileges.

No. The application is not a condition of being served in a restaurant.

The application is the result of the work of a coalition of Polish IT companies, which are developing it for the Ministry of Digitization in cooperation with GovTech Polska, under the supervision of the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate.

The application was developed 100% as a result of the work of a coalition of Polish IT companies working for government institutions. Google and Apple, as the developers of the most popular operating systems, only provide the mechanism used to assess the risk of infection.
They do not have access to any personal data, nor are they able to identify the users. The application is not connected to any other services (such as iCloud or Google Drive).

Contact between two STOP COVID users is recorded by their devices regardless of the country where it takes place. Currently, on the level of the European Commission's e-Health Network, discussions are ongoing on how to ensure interoperability between the applications of each member state.

The application can only be downloaded from the official application stores - Google Play and App Store. Its authenticity can be known from the fact that the developer is the Ministry of Digitization. We warn against downloading applications from other sources as they may contain malware or want to phish personal information.

STOP COVID does not depend on the cellular technology standard and, in particular, does not require a 5G module to function.

No. The information displayed in the application is not a medical diagnosis. A diagnosis can only be issued by a doctor. The application is only intended to help assess the risk of illness. If your risk status changes to medium or high, we recommend calling the Contact Center.