The French government has announced that updates to the popular TousAntiCovid mobile application will cease on 30 June 2023.

This application was created as part of the fight against the coronavirus epidemic in 2020. After three years of existence marked by criticism and controversy over the protection of users' privacy, it has been "paused" by the French government, which says that the application's initial objectives have been met.

These initial objectives, which refer to the application's functionalities, are: to contribute to contact tracing activities, to support cases and contacts, to provide information on the epidemic and management measures, and to store health certificates.

Contact tracing, in particular, is a feature that enables an infection to be traced via a Bluetooth connection from one smartphone to another. Its usefulness has been called into question by many associations, and it was recently deactivated, notably in January.

With over 62.9 million downloads in February, it goes without saying that the mobile application has been a hit with the public. People will still be able to use it to access their (personal) diary and store test and/or vaccination certificates.

The websites of the Ministry of Health and Prevention and Santé publique France remain open to the public for all news on COVID-19.

Source: Ministry of Health and Prevention

Vanessa Ntoh