The vaccine against COVID-19 has started in several countries around the world, and we’ve already seen a few apps that allow users to prove that they took the vaccine with just their iPhones. Now Apple is tightening the App Store rules to ensure that apps that provide proof of vaccination are only submitted by health authorities.
According to a statement shared with developers on Tuesday, Apple is seeing an increase in the number of programs that generate health evidence with proof of vaccination, which is needed to enter buildings. To ensure that people do not falsify such information, the company will require these apps to be submitted by the health authorities to the App Store.
With the recent release of COVID-19 vaccines, we have seen an increase in programs that generate health evidence used to enter buildings and access personal services, based on testing and vaccination records. To ensure that these programs handle sensitive data responsibly and provide reliable features, it must be submitted by developers working with publicly recognized institutions, such as test kit manufacturers, laboratories, or healthcare providers.
As with other COVID-19 programs, we also accept programs submitted directly by government, medical, and other recognized organizations.
As mentioned by Apple, the company has already required COVID-19-related apps to be submitted to the App Store by governments and public health authorities to stop misleading information. Apple also rejects applications that use COVID-19 themes for entertainment or games.
Last year, Los Angeles County developed a new app in partnership with startup Healthvana that allows residents to add proof of COVID-19 vaccination to the Apple Wallet app, so it was only a matter of time before other agencies would do the same. do.
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