Contact tracking: The battle of the apps

Apps on the smartphone are supposed to make contacts in Corona times traceable. The app Luca wants to become the nationwide solution, but a start-up initiative is fighting back.

Smudo wants to turn the very big wheel in the future with his app Luca and provide the nationwide solution for contact tracking. The co-developer is part of the band the "Die Fantastischen Vier", which has brought the young start-up some attention. But it's not the only app to hit the market. An alternative is the Recover app from the initiative "Wir für Digitalisierung" (We for Digitization), which now publicly opposes a nationwide rollout of the Luca app.

First of all, this is not surprising, because the two providers are competitors. "We for Digitization" now argues that a uniform introduction of one app automatically excludes all others. It also argues that the Corona warning app, which was also rolled out across the country without any alternative, has not been a huge success. To date, only over 25 million people in Germany have the app, which is still too few for reliable tracking.

"We for Digitization" is an initiative of several startups all working on digital solutions to challenges like contact tracing for the Corona pandemic. It advocates connecting multiple contact-tracking apps, saying there should be a "collaborative, open and shared interface" and that the Luca app should be part of it.

Smudo doesn't think that's a sensible idea, as he made clear in last Sunday's Anne Will show: "Then FC Bayern comes with its app - or a hotel company from the other side with its hotel app," the singer said. He considers the parallel use of several apps to be wrong.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania was the first state to introduce the Luca app nationwide. Angela Merkel spoke in a press conference for the more intensive use of apps for possible openings of shops, the catering industry or events, while she favored a nationwide solution. However, a decision on an app is still pending.