Grindr and Tinder are among dating apps that could soon add “digital health passports” allowing users in the UK to show they are coronavirus-free.
The Daily Mail reports: Manchester-based cyber firm VST Enterprises (VSTE), is pioneering technology which it says can be used to safeguard daters when coronavirus restrictions are eased. The company says it has been approached for its digital health passports by several leading dating app companies. … The technology would enable a doctor or nurse to upload the results of a government-approved Covid-19 test to the digital health passport. The digital health passport would then be linked to the user’s dating profile. The digital health passport would also feature a countdown ‘traffic light’ timer to highlight when the dater needs another test.
In addition to dating apps, the digital health passport technology could be used in a variety of other settings, including air travel and sports stadiums. The technology, known as Covi-pass, will initially be distributed to 15 countries, including the U.S.
The Verdict reports: These countries will include Italy, Portugal, France, Panama, India, the US, Canada, Sweden, Spain, South Africa, Mexico, United Arab Emirates and The Netherlands, with the goal of supplying 50 million digital health passports. The first passports will begin shipping from next week. … However, a significant shortage of coronavirus test kits could make testing a challenge. Nevertheless, VST believes the technology could be key to ending the lockdown. “We firmly believe that the digital health passport alongside government-approved testing kits is the key to removing the lockdown restrictions in a gradual and controlled way. The current technology being trialed using bluetooth and proximity apps is fundamentally flawed because of its privacy issues of real time tracking, the security and data breaches which we are already seeing and being reported and the reticence for citizens to uptake and download the tracing app,” said Louis-James Davis, CEO of VST Enterprises.
