<s>
NZ	B-Application
COVID	I-Application
Tracer	I-Application
is	O
a	O
mobile	B-Application
software	I-Application
application	I-Application
that	O
enables	O
a	O
person	O
to	O
record	O
places	O
they	O
have	O
visited	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
facilitate	O
tracing	O
who	O
may	O
have	O
been	O
in	O
contact	O
with	O
a	O
person	O
infected	O
with	O
the	O
COVID-19	O
virus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
can	O
be	O
downloaded	O
from	O
the	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
and	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NZ	B-Application
COVID	I-Application
Tracer	I-Application
app	O
was	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
Ministry	O
of	O
Health	O
by	O
New	O
Zealand	O
company	O
Rush	O
Digital	O
and	O
partially	O
relies	O
on	O
an	O
Amazon	B-Application
Web	I-Application
Services	I-Application
platform	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
people	O
were	O
able	O
to	O
download	O
it	O
from	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
on	O
19	O
May	O
and	O
a	O
Health	O
Ministry	O
spokesperson	O
said	O
later	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
been	O
submitted	O
to	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
and	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
that	O
evening	O
and	O
that	O
there	O
can	O
be	O
a	O
variation	O
in	O
time	O
between	O
submitting	O
an	O
app	O
and	O
it	O
going	O
live	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prime	O
Minister	O
Jacinda	O
Ardern	O
described	O
the	O
NZ	B-Application
COVID	I-Application
Tracer	I-Application
app	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
digital	O
diary	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
worked	O
on	O
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
using	O
Android	B-Application
7.0	I-Application
or	O
above	O
,	O
and	O
Apple	B-Operating_System
iOS	I-Operating_System
12	I-Operating_System
or	O
above	O
,	O
with	O
future	O
updates	O
to	O
include	O
support	O
for	O
older	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
were	O
also	O
complaints	O
from	O
the	O
public	O
about	O
iPhones	B-Device
and	O
Android	B-Application
phones	I-Application
running	O
the	O
older	O
,	O
incompatible	O
versions	O
of	O
operating	O
systems	O
being	O
unable	O
to	O
download	O
the	O
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Ministry	O
advised	O
people	O
without	O
a	O
compatible	O
mobile	B-Application
device	I-Application
to	O
keep	O
a	O
manual	O
record	O
of	O
the	O
people	O
and	O
places	O
they	O
have	O
visited	O
for	O
contact	O
tracing	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
app	O
received	O
an	O
average	O
rating	O
of	O
2.6	O
on	O
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
Store	I-Application
,	O
with	O
most	O
complaints	O
relating	O
to	O
its	O
poor	O
design	O
and	O
difficulty	O
with	O
finding	O
the	O
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Ministry	O
of	O
Health	O
released	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
app	O
on	O
30	O
July	O
2020	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
on	O
phones	O
running	O
Android	B-Application
6	O
or	O
iOS	B-Application
11	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
10	O
December	O
,	O
the	O
COVID	O
Tracer	O
app	O
received	O
an	O
update	O
that	O
would	O
allow	O
contact	O
tracing	O
via	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
30	O
January	O
,	O
the	O
Ministry	O
of	O
Health	O
recommended	O
that	O
people	O
with	O
an	O
Android	B-Application
5	O
device	O
use	O
the	O
similar	O
Rippl	O
app	O
,	O
as	O
NZ	B-Application
COVID	I-Application
Tracer	I-Application
does	O
not	O
work	O
on	O
Android	B-Application
5	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
delta	O
outbreak	O
in	O
August	O
2021	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
tracking	O
feature	O
was	O
being	O
used	O
sparsely	O
by	O
government	O
contact	O
tracers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
1	O
April	O
,	O
1	O
News	O
reported	O
a	O
decline	O
in	O
NZ	B-Application
COVID	I-Application
Tracer	I-Application
app	O
usage	O
,	O
citing	O
data	O
from	O
the	O
Ministry	O
of	O
Health	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
devices	O
using	O
the	O
associated	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
tracing	O
rose	O
from	O
below	O
400,000	O
in	O
December	O
2020	O
to	O
below	O
2.4	O
million	O
by	O
early	O
April	O
2022	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NZ	B-Application
COVID	I-Application
Tracer	I-Application
app	O
allows	O
users	O
to	O
scan	O
official	O
Ministry	O
of	O
Health	O
QR	O
codes	O
at	O
businesses	O
,	O
public	O
buildings	O
and	O
other	O
organisations	O
to	O
track	O
where	O
they	O
have	O
been	O
,	O
for	O
contact	O
tracing	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
People	O
can	O
also	O
register	O
their	O
contact	O
tracing	O
details	O
on	O
the	O
official	O
NZ	B-Application
COVID	I-Application
Tracer	I-Application
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
NZ	B-Application
COVID	I-Application
Tracer	I-Application
app	O
is	O
currently	O
only	O
available	O
in	O
English	O
,	O
the	O
New	O
Zealand	O
Government	O
intends	O
to	O
include	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
Māori	O
,	O
Chinese	O
,	O
and	O
several	O
unspecified	O
Pacific	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
10	O
June	O
,	O
the	O
Government	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
be	O
updating	O
the	O
NZ	B-Application
COVID	I-Application
Tracer	I-Application
app	O
to	O
allow	O
the	O
app	O
to	O
contact	O
users	O
who	O
may	O
have	O
been	O
exposed	O
to	O
COVID-19	O
and	O
giving	O
them	O
the	O
option	O
of	O
voluntarily	O
sending	O
their	O
location	O
history	O
to	O
public	O
health	O
officials	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
10	O
December	O
,	O
the	O
COVID	O
Tracer	O
app	O
received	O
a	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
update	O
that	O
would	O
create	O
an	O
anonymised	O
record	O
of	O
every	O
person	O
the	O
user	O
has	O
ever	O
been	O
near	O
,	O
bringing	O
New	O
Zealand	O
in	O
line	O
with	O
other	O
countries	O
such	O
as	O
Singapore	O
which	O
have	O
been	O
using	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
contact	O
tracing	O
since	O
March	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
technology	O
developed	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
and	O
Apple	O
,	O
the	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
upgrade	O
also	O
allows	O
the	O
swapping	O
of	O
"	O
randomised	O
keys	O
"	O
with	O
other	O
phones	O
carrying	O
the	O
updated	O
COVID	O
Tracer	O
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
NZ	B-Application
COVID	I-Application
Tracer	I-Application
app	O
was	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
Ministry	O
of	O
Health	O
in	O
consultation	O
with	O
the	O
Privacy	O
Commissioner	O
and	O
has	O
also	O
undergone	O
independent	O
security	O
testing	O
.	O
</s>
