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What is NZ COVID Tracer
The NZ COVID Tracer app helps you keep track of where you’ve been. Using the app is one thing we can all do to help contact tracing go faster when there's a case of COVID-19 in the community, and stop the virus from spreading.
Use the NZ COVID Tracer app to: scan QR codes to create a private digital diary of the places you visit
use Bluetooth tracing to keep an anonymous record of the people you’ve been near
register your contact details so contact tracers can get in touch if they need to
save your National Health Index (NHI) number to speed up the process if you need a test. Scan QR codes or add a manual entry
Scan QR codes at businesses, services and events with NZ COVID Tracer to create a private digital diary of the places you visit.
If you visit the same place — at around the same time — as someone who later tests positive for COVID-19, you will receive an alert through the app with information on how to stay safe.
Scanning QR codes keeps us one step ahead of the virus — the more we scan the safer we’ll be.
Turn on Bluetooth tracing
Bluetooth tracing allows you to receive an alert if you've been near another app user who tests positive for COVID-19. It's safe, private, and anonymous.
Bluetooth tracing is not intended to replace scanning QR codes. You still need to scan QR codes to keep track of where you’ve been. Bluetooth tracing helps keep track of the people we’ve been near.
How Bluetooth tracing works
Bluetooth tracing lets your phone swap anonymous random keys with nearby phones that also have Bluetooth tracing on. It’s like your phone is giving digital high-fives to other phones you're near. It records how close the other phone was, and for how long.
You do not have to have the app open for it to work and it does not use mobile data. Bluetooth tracing in the app uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). This uses less power than Classic Bluetooth. This means there'll be a minimal impact on phone battery life.
If you or another app user in your community tests positive for COVID-19, app users who have been in close contact will get a Bluetooth alert. This alert will tell you what to do to keep yourself and your whānau safe.
Your data is private
Bluetooth tracing is entirely anonymous. No personal or identifying information swaps between phones. Bluetooth tracing cannot track your movements.
This means no one will ever see who you’ve been near, or when or where you were near them, even if you test positive for COVID-19.
New Zealand
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