COVIDSafe source code revised for better accessibility

Australia’s COVIDSafe contract tracing application has been updated to increase accessibility, availability and, in turn, adoption rates among citizens.

As of this early this month the app has been downloaded more than 6 million times; however, to be effective in curbing the pandemic spread, more than 40% of the national population will need to download and use it.

Following community feedback, the new release improves the app’s backwards compatibility so that users with Android 5.1 operating systems can now use it.

In doing so, it makes the app available to an additional 2% of Australians, or 98% in total.

It is now also available for users with non-Australian Apple app store and Google Play Store accounts.

People who use or rely on text-to-speech technology will see further improvements when using the app, including better descriptions of fields and better recognition of back arrows.

The application source code is being continuously updated, with a further release expected in two weeks’ time.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/MohamadFaizal