USA

[charlesvestal]

Please release the iOS and Android apps in the US store.

---

Internal Tracking ID: EXPOSUREAPP-2041

[fhajji]

Please enable Corona Warn App on the US Play Store as soon as legally and technically possible.

It is not only useful for US travelers / tourists or travelers from other countries which default to the US Play Store, but also for permanent residents in Germany with US Play Store account, of which there are more than you may think. Furthermore, many Germans' Play Store accounts default (or revert back) to the US Play Store for some reasons.

Suggesting to switch Country/Region is not always practical, since Google imposes a 1 per year country change limit in the Play Store settings, and fails to migrate existing account assets such as purchased Books, Movies etc. to the German Play Store, maybe for legal reasons. Giving up those purchases just to download the Corona Warn App is definitively not a popular decision.

Anyone with a US Play Store account reading this, please thumb up the original post of this thread to persuade the makers of this app to prioritize the US Play Store.

TIA, and stay safe and healthy.

[DocOctavius]

Thanks, fhajji! I just signed up to post the exact post! The virus does not stop at any border or nationality! Publishing the app in the US store is just a mouse click away! Please do it!

[melancholyaeon]

Hi!

After reading about the success of the app here in Germany, many of my US friends pinged me on Facebook to ask how they can use the German app in the US. Since the US response is. .. . don't need to say anything here. . . . is it possible for Americans, and not just Germans traveling to America later this summer when that becomes possible, to use the app there? This is a situation where it seems quite a few Americans are looking to Germany for a sane & trustworthy solution. Ty for listening.

[cfritzsche]

Hi!

After reading about the success of the app here in Germany, many of my US friends pinged me on Facebook to ask how they can use the German app in the US. Since the US response is. .. . don't need to say anything here. . . . is it possible for Americans, and not just Germans traveling to America later this summer when that becomes possible, to use the app there? This is a situation where it seems quite a few Americans are looking to Germany for a sane & trustworthy solution. Ty for listening.

Interesting idea. In fact you could already use Immuni or SwissCovid they work in exactly the same way. The trouble will be that you can’t get a teleTAN to upload your keys once you have a positive test as no hotline can support US citizens outside the USA..

[melancholyaeon]

The trouble will be that you can’t get a teleTAN to upload your keys once you have a positive test as no hotline can support US citizens outside the USA..

This seems solvable by partnering with the sane US states, like New York or California, that easily have the resources & desire to do this part of the functionality.

Ty for your quick & thoughtful response.

[cfritzsche]

Sure, they could run their own backend and hotline modeled after this project. It’s open source and I guess it needs the governors buy-in else Apple and Google wouldn’t allow them on the API. You could fork the relevant repos and adapt them to their needs (maybe the lab connection or hotline number etc).

[gitbrueck]

no hotline can support US citizens outside the USA Telekom could hire US citizens to support US citizens inside the USA.

Sure, they could run their own backend and hotline modeled after this project. Sure, everybody can fork. But Germany maintain the CWA for the world.

[cfritzsche]

no hotline can support US citizens outside the USA

Telekom could hire US citizens to support US citizens inside the USA.

Sure they could. But I guess the money for that would have to come from the US.

Sure, they could run their own backend and hotline modeled after this project.

Sure, everybody can fork.

But Germany maintain the CWA for the world.

CWA is maintained here so you can keep development and maintenance cost down. But to run your own hotline and backend you need your own app modified just a little bit (location of backend and hotline number). And then you can release that new app and get the buy-in from your health authority so Google and Apple will allow it to use the Exposure API.

So it is a valid idea to fork this project so the US can have their own app, but it is not related to this app being in US app stores.

[gitbrueck]

no hotline can support US citizens outside the USA Telekom could hire US citizens to support US citizens inside the USA.

Sure they could. But I guess the money for that would have to come from the US.

https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/truppenabzug-nato-und-nord-stream-2-maas-sieht-dringenden-handlungsbedarf-im-verhaeltnis-zu-den-usa/25956532.html

[amandadebler]

As our embassies in Germany are only handling emergency passport requests right now, I severely doubt they’re going to take an interest in campaigning for our access to this, despite its potential for improving the safety of Americans who aren’t trying to get home - not to mention everyone around us.

[melancholyaeon]

What do embassies have to do with anything?

Just fork the code, pop in the already existing California virus hotline & teach that staff to update the back end with confirmed infection reports.

If Gavin will fund, whole thing could take 10 days. Where is SV innovation when Cali needs it?

Best Regards,

Your friend from San Francisco now studying in DE

On Wed, Jul 15, 2020 at 14:07 Amanda Debler notifications@github.com wrote:

As our embassies in Germany are only handling emergency passport requests right now, I severely doubt they’re going to take an interest in campaigning for our access to this, despite its potential for improving the safety of Americans who aren’t trying to get home - not to mention everyone around us.

— You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/corona-warn-app/cwa-wishlist/issues/41#issuecomment-658729558, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/APY2ILT5KVVLX44V74O6M7TR3WLZZANCNFSM4OGR4ALA .

[amandadebler]

https://github.com/melancholyaeonFor it to be useful for Americans living in Germany (and those living around us), it needs to be the same app that Robert Koch Institut signed and has placed in the German and several other country app stores, because of which backend it can connect to. A California fork of this would probably be a great idea, but for people living in California - that CA app would not have access to the list of IDs of people who had positive test results in Germany, nor upload a positive test result and IDs to Germany’s backend.

On Wed, Jul 15, 2020, at 2:37 PM, melancholyaeon wrote:

What do embassies have to do with anything?

Just fork the code, pop in the already existing California virus hotline & teach that staff to update the back end with confirmed infection reports.

If Gavin will fund, whole thing could take 10 days. Where is SV innovation when Cali needs it?

Best Regards,

Your friend from San Francisco now studying in DE

On Wed, Jul 15, 2020 at 14:07 Amanda Debler notifications@github.com wrote:

As our embassies in Germany are only handling emergency passport requests right now, I severely doubt they’re going to take an interest in campaigning for our access to this, despite its potential for improving the safety of Americans who aren’t trying to get home - not to mention everyone around us.

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[melancholyaeon]

Of course not. People in California don't need German services. I'm talking purely about a Cali fork for Cali.

On Wed, Jul 15, 2020 at 18:33 Amanda Debler notifications@github.com wrote:

@melancholyaeon https://github.com/melancholyaeon - For it to be useful for Americans living in Germany (and those living around us), it needs to be the same app that Robert Koch Institut signed and has placed in the German and several other country app stores, because of which backend it can connect to. A California fork of this would probably be a great idea, but for people living in California - that CA app would not have access to the list of IDs of people who had positive test results in Germany, nor upload a positive test result and IDs to Germany’s backend.

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[amandadebler]

This board is all about countries whose app stores we are trying to get RKI to allow their signed version of the app into, along with other desired changes to said app - wanting a CA version of the app and its infrastructure is something you’d need to take up elsewhere to have any effect. There’s nothing stopping you from leading an effort to fork the app for California! We, on the other hand, have to convince RKI that no one in the US government is going to sue them for making the Germany version of it easily available to Americans and others using the US versions of Apple and Google's app stores, and that’s where the US embassy and/or consulates in Germany would come in, if they were up for anything more than emergency passports right now.

On Wed, Jul 15, 2020, at 7:03 PM, melancholyaeon wrote:

Of course not. People in California don't need German services. I'm talking purely about a Cali fork for Cali.

On Wed, Jul 15, 2020 at 18:33 Amanda Debler notifications@github.com wrote:

@melancholyaeon https://github.com/melancholyaeon - For it to be useful for Americans living in Germany (and those living around us), it needs to be the same app that Robert Koch Institut signed and has placed in the German and several other country app stores, because of which backend it can connect to. A California fork of this would probably be a great idea, but for people living in California - that CA app would not have access to the list of IDs of people who had positive test results in Germany, nor upload a positive test result and IDs to Germany’s backend.

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[gitbrueck]

People in California don't need German services.

Right.

The Corona Warn App contains Exposure Notifications API.

People in Germany need service of Google and Apple.

[szhorvat]

Do we have an update on this? Is it a hard "no", is it approved, or still being considered?

I don't want to add to the noise in the topic, I simply wanted to point out that if the maintainers already have information that a release of Germany's Corona-Warn-App on the US app store very unlikely to happen, it would be useful to mention it here. Then we can stop checking.

[tkowark]

Unfortunately, we don't have any further updates at this point.

All newly added stores will be announced in the corresponding backlog issue, in our FAQ, through the publisher's twitter account, and, additionally, we will then close this issue.

[gitbrueck]

If the Corona Warn App will be successful in Germany then it should go west.

[DaveyM84]

I just came to open this thread, glad someone did it before me. When will the app be available in the US app stores - what is the status on that? Likely/unlikely? Most of the EU countries have been covered by now, but Americans make up quite a large percentage of internationals living in Germany, especially in terms of the English-speaking countries represented in Germany, this must be considered. As such this should be given priority accordingly. This question has been running for quite a while now and I see no real feedback about the chances of it being resolved or not. Therefore, can we please get a worthwhile update on this now?

[melancholyaeon]

Hi Davey M84,

According to the latest info from DW, which was last week, higher ups are focused still on fixing issues in this app. ( https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-coronavirus-tracing-app-criticized-over-warning-failures/a-54305099 )

So I don't think think this is top of mind for them ATM.

Meanwhile teams in the US appear to be moving towards getting state government buy-in for forking the Irish app, now that that's been given to the Linux Foundation.

Hope this helps. Probably best to watch the news for updates. Ciao!

On Tue, Aug 4, 2020 at 11:44 DaveyM84 notifications@github.com wrote:

I just came to open this thread, glad someone did it before me. When will the app be available in the US app stores - what is the status on that? Likely/unlikely? Most of the EU countries have been covered by now, but Americans make up quite a large percentage of internationals living in Germany, especially in terms of the English-speaking countries represented in Germany, this must be considered. As such this should be given priority accordingly. This question has been running for quite a while now and I see no real feedback about the chances of it being resolved or not. Therefore, can we please get a worthwhile update on this now?

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/corona-warn-app/cwa-wishlist/issues/41#issuecomment-668496809, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/APY2ILSUW4BVVUMDAJJBNNDR67J57ANCNFSM4OGR4ALA .

[steviewenner]

Here to add an additional voice to this request - with the following information

2018 statistics from Destatis suggest there are over 120,000 civilian Americans residing in Germany with an additional 50K military personnel. The majority of these 120k Americans are living in Bayern, where the disease has had the highest numbers of death per 100,000 population for the entire length of the pandemic. It is very clear that this is an urgent need for the Americans who are living in Germany. If it is absolutely impossible that you can allow this to appear in the US app stores in a reasonable time; please publish a recommended way for users to access the app and at least recognise what you're asking your legal residents to do in order to protect themselves (which prior users have pointed out means losing access to their media libraries or something similar). Is a solve asking us to create a second "apple ID" or something of the sort? Is this a real solution? I leave it up to the tech brains who have brought this masterpiece to life and simply ask you to take this request into serious consideration. Thank you.

[melancholyaeon]

Hi Steve!

Yes, all of us American long-timers here just create a second Apple account for the German app store. Takes about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

On Tue, Aug 4, 2020 at 16:20 steviewenner notifications@github.com wrote:

Here to add an additional voice to this request - with the following information

2018 statistics from Destatis suggest there are over 120,000 civilian Americans residing in Germany with an additional 50K military personnel. The majority of these 120k Americans are living in Bayern, where the disease has had the highest numbers of death per 100,000 population for the entire length of the pandemic. It is very clear that this is an urgent need for the Americans who are living in Germany. If it is absolutely impossible that you can allow this to appear in the US app stores in a reasonable time; please publish a recommended way for users to access the app and at least recognise what you're asking your legal residents to do in order to protect themselves (which prior users have pointed out means losing access to their media libraries or something similar). Is a solve asking us to create a second "apple ID" or something of the sort? Is this a real solution? I leave it up to the tech brains who have brought this masterpiece to life and simply ask you to take this request into serious consideration. Thank you.

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/corona-warn-app/cwa-wishlist/issues/41#issuecomment-668625118, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/APY2ILVHHRMTNURVVONGIU3R7AKKBANCNFSM4OGR4ALA .

[DaveyM84]

Hi Davey M84, According to the latest info from DW, which was last week, higher ups are focused still on fixing issues in this app. ( https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-coronavirus-tracing-app-criticized-over-warning-failures/a-54305099 ) So I don't think think this is top of mind for them ATM. Meanwhile teams in the US appear to be moving towards getting state government buy-in for forking the Irish app, now that that's been given to the Linux Foundation. Hope this helps. Probably best to watch the news for updates. Ciao! … On Tue, Aug 4, 2020 at 11:44 DaveyM84 @.***> wrote: I just came to open this thread, glad someone did it before me. When will the app be available in the US app stores - what is the status on that? Likely/unlikely? Most of the EU countries have been covered by now, but Americans make up quite a large percentage of internationals living in Germany, especially in terms of the English-speaking countries represented in Germany, this must be considered. As such this should be given priority accordingly. This question has been running for quite a while now and I see no real feedback about the chances of it being resolved or not. Therefore, can we please get a worthwhile update on this now? — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#41 (comment)>, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/APY2ILSUW4BVVUMDAJJBNNDR67J57ANCNFSM4OGR4ALA .

Hi

Hi Davey M84, According to the latest info from DW, which was last week, higher ups are focused still on fixing issues in this app. ( https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-coronavirus-tracing-app-criticized-over-warning-failures/a-54305099 ) So I don't think think this is top of mind for them ATM. Meanwhile teams in the US appear to be moving towards getting state government buy-in for forking the Irish app, now that that's been given to the Linux Foundation. Hope this helps. Probably best to watch the news for updates. Ciao! … On Tue, Aug 4, 2020 at 11:44 DaveyM84 @.***> wrote: I just came to open this thread, glad someone did it before me. When will the app be available in the US app stores - what is the status on that? Likely/unlikely? Most of the EU countries have been covered by now, but Americans make up quite a large percentage of internationals living in Germany, especially in terms of the English-speaking countries represented in Germany, this must be considered. As such this should be given priority accordingly. This question has been running for quite a while now and I see no real feedback about the chances of it being resolved or not. Therefore, can we please get a worthwhile update on this now? — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#41 (comment)>, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/APY2ILSUW4BVVUMDAJJBNNDR67J57ANCNFSM4OGR4ALA .

Hi melancholyaeon,

cheers for the quick reply! I didn't know about that issue.....

(Also, thanks for the info and link - I'm Irish originally so it's really interesting to know that that's going on)

Hmmm now I'm a bit conflicted. I was gonna say a software issue like that shouldn't necessarily be a reason for the release of app the to more country app stores being put on pause or going on the backburner, because at the end of the day. However, after reading the story I now see that's quite a critical issue so I get how that could take up a whole lot of energy.

Back on the other hand though, the people who would use CWA via the US app store in Germany are still here and waiting. I mean, at the end of the day these are seperate issues, if there's an OS related problem with the app then the people using the Germany app stores and other countries' app stores which have since been released can still download and use the app as before, while the others still can't.

Well, basically I get that the current issue is critical and needs to be solved asap, but I hope the US appstore issue won't go much on the backburner or even get forgotten about, is what I'm saying. 'Cause it must be said also, that the app is still relatively "fresh" so it's also very important and critical to get it out there and available to as many people as possible. And to be fair, this should have been in all the stores from the get-go (but that's another matter now) so the longer it goes like this, the less uptake from those foreign stores will be when they finally do get added.

I'll keep checking

Thanks

[DaveyM84]

Here to add an additional voice to this request - with the following information

2018 statistics from Destatis suggest there are over 120,000 civilian Americans residing in Germany with an additional 50K military personnel. The majority of these 120k Americans are living in Bayern, where the disease has had the highest numbers of death per 100,000 population for the entire length of the pandemic. It is very clear that this is an urgent need for the Americans who are living in Germany. If it is absolutely impossible that you can allow this to appear in the US app stores in a reasonable time; please publish a recommended way for users to access the app and at least recognise what you're asking your legal residents to do in order to protect themselves (which prior users have pointed out means losing access to their media libraries or something similar). Is a solve asking us to create a second "apple ID" or something of the sort? Is this a real solution? I leave it up to the tech brains who have brought this masterpiece to life and simply ask you to take this request into serious consideration. Thank you.

yes, this is actually a really good point...the US military! Especially given the long-running history of their presene in Germany... Ok, so they might be leaving now, but who know if that will really go ahead, and even if it does it probably won't be 100% or forever.

Anyway, very good point Steviewenner and I agree with you that it should be seriously considered as well. That should carry a certain weight

[tblock79]

It's been 2 months since the initial release of the app and the app is still not available in all app stores, esp the US app store. Why are Switzerland and Austria able to do this while Germany's app development team is unable to resolve this? You are aware that we need the app during the pandemic and not after it has faded?

[ghost]

Hello @tblock79,

please check out the following FAQ article: https://www.coronawarn.app/en/faq/#international. "Legal consultations have shown that in the case of publication in international App Stores, the law of the respective country must be considered and applied to the Corona-Warn-App".

I will check, if we have a new update on this regarding the US App Store.

Thanks, LMM

Corona-Warn-App Open Source Team

[szhorvat]

@GPclips Thank you for explaining the legal difficulties in making the app available through certain app stores.

However, the FAQ you link to does not explain why you do not publish an official (i.e. trustworthy) APK, which everyone could install independently of any app stores. It merely states that you do not provide the APK, but without any explanation. Clearly, many people who do not have app-store-based access will obtain the APK anyway, in one way or another, often from unofficial APK sites. Anyone can upload to these sites. Getting the APK from there is a security risk—one cannot tell that it was not maliciously modified. Then one is faced with the choice: which risk should I take? Using an app that may have been modified with malicious intent? Or not making use of the coronavirus warning system, possibly walking around while infectious, and putting family members at risk?

It is clear at this point that there is next to no chance for publication in the US app store. Sorting all the legal stuff out (with state-to-state variation in the US) is probably too complicated. You should consider making the app available in alternative ways as well, without all the control and restrictions that app stores typically bring.

"Legal consultations have shown that in the case of publication in international App Stores, the law of the respective country must be considered and applied to the Corona-Warn-App".

If I understand you, it is publication in country-specific app stores (which are regulated by each country's laws) that causes this problem. Why are you then not even considering publishing independently of app stores? Simply make the APK available, and make its use the responsibility of individuals. The internet is international. If a country deems the app not to be compatible with their laws, they can block the download link (as may countries already do in similar cases—see the Chinese great firewall). It is at this point their, not the RKI's, responsibility to limit distribution.

[GisoSchroederSAP]

As a result of technical, security, and legal evaluation the Corona Warn App cannot be released for iOS and Android in the respective app stores in US yet. While the app evolves, we constantly review the progress. So, this release decision is subject of change.

[GisoSchroederSAP]

For now, the official decision is: There is no way to release the app in the US store. However, this my change in the future, once technical, security, and legal evaluations approve the required changes.

[joernwilms]

Are you sure that the proper reaction to the legal review is simply to close this issue, which affects a large number of people who cannot just switch over to the German app store? Wouldn't it be better to leave this issue open and to think about alternative ways on how the functionality of this important app could be made available to these people?

[DaveyM84]

I absolutely agree with the last comment! If you "constantly review" the decision this, then why close this thread?? Sorry but closing a thread like this on something which is obviously wanted and needed just seems cynical and does not inspire good faith or optimism, not to mention that it stops others from adding their voice in favour of this and also limits transparency, even if that was not the intention.

[GisoSchroederSAP]

Thanks for sharing your concerns. I totally understand, you might not be with the decision or even with the "closed" status of this ticket, as it is not yet resolved.

However, please accept, that I just communicated the official decision made by the RKI agency and by the authorities (not by SAP) due to the fact, that the technical and the legal implications for supporting the US app stores are not yet resolved.

Therefore, from the pure perspective of the App implementation and provisioning, we still hold the idea of expanding the coverage of the Corona Warn App. But for now, there will not be a different communication here with respect to the US app stores. Once the decision changes, we certainly will actively communicate the availability of the Corona Warn App.

[DaveyM84]

Thanks for clarifying!

[gregreen]

Has there been any development on this in the last month? What are the legal issues that prevent the app from being listed on the US Play Store? The FAQ is pretty vague.

[VWFeature]

There's some sort of legal issue that prevents the RKI from allowing DL of CWA from the US Play Store.

I asked Google, and they told me I can create a second Play Store account, with the country set to Germany. G said it needs a payment method valid in Germany (like a different credit card.) Then you can access the German Play Store.

The second method is to use a VPN, with a server in Germany. You would then have a German IP address, and Play Store would think you're in Germany.

Add an account https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2521798?hl=en

Another description w vpn discussion https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/185783/using-apps-from-two-countries-on-the-same-device

"How to install region restricted Android apps on your device" https://www.androidguys.com/tips-tools/install-region-restricted-android-apps/

If anyone uses this and succeeds, please post. The other question I have is, how many people in the US will be using this? The central coordinators for the Warn-Apps need to coordinate their reporting so someone using the Virginia app and reporting a positive test will show up on apps from Maryland, Kentucky, etc., as well as CWA.

Here's my Google Help Chat:

Can I have a German Play account and a US account? 7:18 PM K Yes you can have both the countries profile on your account and let me you can only switch the country only once in 365 days. Kai · 7:20 PM Um, that's not clear. Can I have a US account AND a German account? I don't need to switch my US account. 7:21 PM K

If you want to create the German profile on new email address then yes you can even do that. Yes of course, you can have that. Kai · 7:22 PM

How do I set the nation on the Play account? Sign in to PLay and set the nation? 7:22 PM K Let me tell you to create the German payment profile you need to add the valid payment of Germany to the account on which you want to use German profile. Kai · 7:23 PM K Once you add the payment method your new country payment profile will be ready you can add the card at pay.google.com just to create an payment profile you can add and remove the card the from the account. Kai · 7:24 PM So my original email Play account will stay USA, correct? 7:24 PM K Yes, you are right it will stay US profile as you will be creating German profile on other account. Kai · 7:25 PM If I understand correctly, all I need is a payment method that's valid in Germany. It does NOT need to be a German bank card?

K Valid payment method on Play store in Germany you can find all of them in below mentioned link. https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2651410?hl=en&co=GENIE.CountryCode%3DGermany

[DaveyM84]

There's some sort of legal issue that prevents the RKI from allowing DL of CWA from the US Play Store.

I asked Google, and they told me I can create a second Play Store account, with the country set to Germany. G said it needs a payment method valid in Germany (like a different credit card.) Then you can access the German Play Store.

The second method is to use a VPN, with a server in Germany. You would then have a German IP address, and Play Store would think you're in Germany.

Add an account https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2521798?hl=en

Another description w vpn discussion https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/185783/using-apps-from-two-countries-on-the-same-device

"How to install region restricted Android apps on your device" https://www.androidguys.com/tips-tools/install-region-restricted-android-apps/

If anyone uses this and succeeds, please post. The other question I have is, how many people in the US will be using this? The central coordinators for the Warn-Apps need to coordinate their reporting so someone using the Virginia app and reporting a positive test will show up on apps from Maryland, Kentucky, etc., as well as CWA.

Here's my Google Help Chat:

Can I have a German Play account and a US account? 7:18 PM K Yes you can have both the countries profile on your account and let me you can only switch the country only once in 365 days. Kai · 7:20 PM Um, that's not clear. Can I have a US account AND a German account? I don't need to switch my US account. 7:21 PM K

If you want to create the German profile on new email address then yes you can even do that. Yes of course, you can have that. Kai · 7:22 PM

How do I set the nation on the Play account? Sign in to PLay and set the nation? 7:22 PM K Let me tell you to create the German payment profile you need to add the valid payment of Germany to the account on which you want to use German profile. Kai · 7:23 PM K Once you add the payment method your new country payment profile will be ready you can add the card at pay.google.com just to create an payment profile you can add and remove the card the from the account. Kai · 7:24 PM So my original email Play account will stay USA, correct? 7:24 PM K Yes, you are right it will stay US profile as you will be creating German profile on other account. Kai · 7:25 PM If I understand correctly, all I need is a payment method that's valid in Germany. It does NOT need to be a German bank card?

K Valid payment method on Play store in Germany you can find all of them in below mentioned link. https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/2651410?hl=en&co=GENIE.CountryCode%3DGermany

Has there been any development on this in the last month? What are the legal issues that prevent the app from being listed on the US Play Store? The FAQ is pretty vague.

Sorry this doesn't help you VWFeature, but just wanted to say that this outline reads like a perfect example of precisely why the app should have been available in the foreign country app stores (in this case US) in the first place. The work involved to resolve the legal doubt or issue with releasing the app stores is not more than the burden and onus that is being placed on the endusers to jump through all of hurdles and loops you have described above, and this is simply unfair and an unrealistic expectation. If this issue had been tackled holistically at the begging in an global and international way and not in this piecemeal country-by-country way, it would have been much less work and effort for everyone involved and we wouldn't be going around in circles in these discussions here. Why is it that it seems like only the Endusers can see that?

[VWFeature]

So you're saying the USA didn't make a coordinated, science based response to Coronavirus, although Germany did, and other nations (and US states) also have a severe case of 'not invented here' syndrome? And that people close to the problem can often see it more clearly than powerful leaders?

This is a well known problem in management science.

Having Power Makes You Stupid "are such overconfident people drawn to power, or does power itself create their overconfidence?

They had subjects write detailed accounts of times when they had had or had lacked power. They then had them answer a series of factual questions and rate how confident they were about their answers. They found that the people who had been primed to think of themselves as more powerful had more confidence in their answers than the rest—and yet their answers were actually less accurate. Yes, "confidence in one's answers was inversely correlated with accuracy.""

https://leadershipfreak.blog/2014/03/31/seven-reasons-smart-leaders-get-dumb/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/frederickallen/2012/03/06/study-finds-that-having-power-can-make-you-stupid/

[DaveyM84]

Good evening, where at we at on this? i.e. getting the Corona-Warn App in the US app stores It's been quite a while...surely the previous technical issue which was understandably slowing things down in general has been resolved by now? Corona is not going away any time soon, and this country update is needed more than ever. Therefore, can we please get a decent/substantial update on the status of this issue now?

[VWFeature]

Hi DaveyM84, The only place the Corona-Warn App works is IN GERMANY. There is a server at the RKI that keeps track of all the coded tags, and notifies people if they've been in close contact with someone who tests positive.

There is NO UTILITY for the German app unless you are in Germany, (as I am at the moment.) RKI is working with other countries (Switzerland) to coordinate their apps, and notify people who got exposed somewhere else.

As of a few weeks ago, 10 states and Wash DC had made Coronavirus tracking apps using the same Google/Apple framework. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/03/covid-app-exposure-notification-apple-google.html#close

Ireland and Canada open-sourced their code, so the NY and CA apps are based on it. When your state, or a state you travel into, releases an app, you can usefully install it.

Of course, it would make sense to have a nationalized or worldwide database so we could all use one app, and get notice if we got exposed when we took a weekend trip. The USA is not there yet. Maybe after January.

What we need is some leadership and coordination from leaders.

[DaveyM84]

Hi DaveyM84, The only place the Corona-Warn App works is IN GERMANY. There is a server at the RKI that keeps track of all the coded tags, and notifies people if they've been in close contact with someone who tests positive.

There is NO UTILITY for the German app unless you are in Germany, (as I am at the moment.) RKI is working with other countries (Switzerland) to coordinate their apps, and notify people who got exposed somewhere else.

As of a few weeks ago, 10 states and Wash DC had made Coronavirus tracking apps using the same Google/Apple framework. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/03/covid-app-exposure-notification-apple-google.html#close

Ireland and Canada open-sourced their code, so the NY and CA apps are based on it. When your state, or a state you travel into, releases an app, you can usefully install it.

Of course, it would make sense to have a nationalized or worldwide database so we could all use one app, and get notice if we got exposed when we took a weekend trip. The USA is not there yet. Maybe after January.

What we need is some leadership and coordination from leaders.

Hi VWFeature, thanks for your quick reply but that's not what I'm asking about at all. I already know the app only works in Germany but that's not what I meant. (Good to know about the international collaborations though, thanks for that part)

I'm asking about when the Corona Warn App will be available in the US app stores for Americans (and others) who are registered on US app stores in Germany, and who either live in or be currently in Germany. Many people living here, like myself, are not necessarily registered to the Germany app stores, and it's not easy to switch over, especially not just for one app. I think that's what this thread refers to. Like with the other European countries after the app was launched, the app was not available in the various app stores of those countries, but some time after that was resolved, so now e.g. a British person living in Germany but registered to the UK app store can still get the CoronaWarn App. To be clear, I am talking about using the app within GERMANY but being able to download from it from various international app stores, in this case the US app stores.

[szhorvat]

I'm asking about when the Corona Warn App will be available in the US app stores for Americans (and others) who are registered on US app stores in Germany, and who either live in or be currently in Germany.

For those who did not understand the following (personally, I did not, until recently):

On Android, even if you have a Google Play account in country X, you can still create a second account in Germany, and use both on your phone without ill effects. If you already live in Germany (which is the only good reason to want to use this app), there should be no barriers to creating a German account. This will give you an easy and safe way to use corona-warn-app. This solution works well for me.

I've been told that perhaps the same is possible with iOS, but I do not have the possibility to try it.

[DaveyM84]

I'm asking about when the Corona Warn App will be available in the US app stores for Americans (and others) who are registered on US app stores in Germany, and who either live in or be currently in Germany.

For those who did not understand the following (personally, I did not, until recently):

On Android, even if you have a Google Play account in country X, you can still create a second account in Germany, and use both on your phone without ill effects. If you already live in Germany (which is the only good reason to want to use this app), there should be no barriers to creating a German account. This will give you an easy and safe way to use corona-warn-app. This solution works well for me.

I've been told that perhaps the same is possible with iOS, but I do not have the possibility to try it.

I have an iphone myself and as far as I know that's not possible on iOs; you can only be signed in with one Apple-ID at any one time, and it's also quite a pain to sign out, and then into another one, the process is not super smooth....

Regarding having 2 Google accounts running side-by-side on Android, I didn't know that was possible, very interesting! However, that still places a lot of time and effort on the enduser. It's unfair for the app providers to expect people (who fall into this category) to have a second account just for this one app. It's unrealistic and unfair of the app providers to expect that of non-German-app store users. Sure, if an individual wants to do it then good for them. At best it's a workaround for individual users but it's not an actual solution/resolution to this problem. The onus should not placed on the enduser. Thank you nevertheless for this.

[melancholyaeon]

Hi Davey:

This isn't on the project roadmap at all. The focus has moved to connecting it to other EU apps.

I still don't understand what keeps you from taking the 10 minutes to just make another Apple or Google ID & downloading it.

All of us who have in Germany for more than a week or two do this. It's just Expat 101.

It's really not hard! Good luck.

F

On Thu, Nov 5, 2020 at 09:20 DaveyM84 notifications@github.com wrote:

Hi DaveyM84, The only place the Corona-Warn App works is IN GERMANY. There is a server at the RKI that keeps track of all the coded tags, and notifies people if they've been in close contact with someone who tests positive.

There is NO UTILITY for the German app unless you are in Germany, (as I am at the moment.) RKI is working with other countries (Switzerland) to coordinate their apps, and notify people who got exposed somewhere else.

As of a few weeks ago, 10 states and Wash DC had made Coronavirus tracking apps using the same Google/Apple framework.

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/03/covid-app-exposure-notification-apple-google.html#close

Ireland and Canada open-sourced their code, so the NY and CA apps are based on it. When your state, or a state you travel into, releases an app, you can usefully install it.

Of course, it would make sense to have a nationalized or worldwide database so we could all use one app, and get notice if we got exposed when we took a weekend trip. The USA is not there yet. Maybe after January.

What we need is some leadership and coordination from leaders.

Hi VWFeature, thanks for your quick reply but that's not what I'm asking about at all. I already know the app only works in Germany but that's not what I meant. (Good to know about the international collaborations though, thanks for that part)

I'm asking about when the Corona Warn App will be available in the US app stores for Americans (and others) who are registered on US app stores in Germany, and who either live in or be currently in Germany. Many people living here, like myself, are not necessarily registered to the Germany app stores, and it's not easy to switch over, especially not just for one app. I think that's what this thread refers to. Like with the other European countries after the app was launched, the app was not available in the various app stores of those countries, but some time after that was resolved, so now e.g. a British person living in Germany but registered to the UK app store can still get the CoronaWarn App. To be clear, I am talking about using the app within GERMANY but being able to download from it from various international app stores, in this case the US app stores.

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/corona-warn-app/cwa-wishlist/issues/41#issuecomment-722220319, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/APY2ILS2LKS4LM2SKJQZTNTSOJN4PANCNFSM4OGR4ALA .

[achisto]

I've been told that perhaps the same is possible with iOS, but I do not have the possibility to try it.

iOS user here. It's possible and I actually have three Apple IDs (for Germany, Denmark and USA) but it's really uncomfortable to sign out and back in with another ID every time. Though as I see it just switching IDs for installing the app should be sufficient.

[Ein-Tim]

I think that if somebody from the USA comes over to Germany to visit the country for let's say two or three weeks, He/She will search in the App Store for Corona-Warn App, maybe click on a link/Scan a QR Code which brings him/her to the App Store and won't find the Corona-Warn App or get this Message:

There, I'm quite sure, the most users will stop their efforts to install the App.

So that's why I think it would be very important to have the App in the US App Store too.

It's mainly not about Americans who are living over here (they definetly should have a German Apple ID/Google Account), but more about tourists who will visit germany and (probably) never come back, even though there are not that many of them in these times 😉 But although there are not that many tourists at the moment, you can just think about business people who are still traveling in other countries, also Germany.

[DaveyM84]

I, personally, think that if somebody from the USA comes over to Germany to visit the country for let's say two-three weeks.

He/She will search in the App Store for Corona-Warn App, maybe click on a link/Scan a QR Code which brings him/her to the App Store and won't find the Corona-Warn App or get this Message respectively:

There, I'm quite sure, the most users will stop their efforts to install the App.

So that's why I think it would be sense very important to have the App in the USA App Store too.

Exactly! Glad to see at least some people get it. Thank you.

[DaveyM84]

I've been told that perhaps the same is possible with iOS, but I do not have the possibility to try it.

iOS user here. It's possible and I actually have three Apple IDs (for Germany, Denmark and USA) but it's really uncomfortable to sign out and back in with another ID every time. Though as I see it just switching IDs for installing the app should be sufficient.

Ok but what you just described would actually mean that it's not possible, it being the ability to have two or more user ID's running simultaneously on the same device parallel, since you just mentioned signing in and out of accounts and I don't believe that that's what the other poster was describing on Android, Obviously it's possible to have two or more user accounts/profiles, I don't think anyone was questioning that though.

But yes it is extremely uncomfortable and annoying to switch accounts on iOs.

[DaveyM84]

Hi Davey: This isn't on the project roadmap at all. The focus has moved to connecting it to other EU apps. I still don't understand what keeps you from taking the 10 minutes to just make another Apple or Google ID & downloading it. All of us who have in Germany for more than a week or two do this. It's just Expat 101. It's really not hard! Good luck. F … On Thu, Nov 5, 2020 at 09:20 DaveyM84 @.***> wrote: Hi DaveyM84, The only place the Corona-Warn App works is IN GERMANY. There is a server at the RKI that keeps track of all the coded tags, and notifies people if they've been in close contact with someone who tests positive. There is NO UTILITY for the German app unless you are in Germany, (as I am at the moment.) RKI is working with other countries (Switzerland) to coordinate their apps, and notify people who got exposed somewhere else. As of a few weeks ago, 10 states and Wash DC had made Coronavirus tracking apps using the same Google/Apple framework. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/03/covid-app-exposure-notification-apple-google.html#close Ireland and Canada open-sourced their code, so the NY and CA apps are based on it. When your state, or a state you travel into, releases an app, you can usefully install it. Of course, it would make sense to have a nationalized or worldwide database so we could all use one app, and get notice if we got exposed when we took a weekend trip. The USA is not there yet. Maybe after January. What we need is some leadership and coordination from leaders. Hi VWFeature, thanks for your quick reply but that's not what I'm asking about at all. I already know the app only works in Germany but that's not what I meant. (Good to know about the international collaborations though, thanks for that part) I'm asking about when the Corona Warn App will be available in the US app stores for Americans (and others) who are registered on US app stores in Germany, and who either live in or be currently in Germany. Many people living here, like myself, are not necessarily registered to the Germany app stores, and it's not easy to switch over, especially not just for one app. I think that's what this thread refers to. Like with the other European countries after the app was launched, the app was not available in the various app stores of those countries, but some time after that was resolved, so now e.g. a British person living in Germany but registered to the UK app store can still get the CoronaWarn App. To be clear, I am talking about using the app within GERMANY but being able to download from it from various international app stores, in this case the US app stores. — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#41 (comment)>, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/APY2ILS2LKS4LM2SKJQZTNTSOJN4PANCNFSM4OGR4ALA .

Hi melancholyaeon, well good to finally get an answer about where it's at. Thanks for that.

But sorry, you're missing the point though, which is that it's not about me myself having an issue with setting up a 2nd account and downloading it that way. If that was the case, I could just save my time writing here and go ahead and do that. I wasn't referring to myself on the individual level. No, it's about leaving it up to all users in this category to do that. Which is not ok. Given what you have suggested I go do, by implication you expect all users in this position to do the same. That's unfair and just not realistic. People don't want the Corona app in the same way that they might want an app like say Instagram or Tinder (just random examples!) etc ; like Ein-Tim said above, for most users as soon as they hit the geo-block/app not available message, they are not going to take it any further. They just won't bother, despite their best intentions, they'll forget and that's it. It's just unrealistic to expect that they will do what you suggest. The point I am making is that all of those people are being lost and essentially excluded. And it's not just about Expats. There are also tourists and business people and other visitors not to mention US military also. (I'm sure there are several other categories I can't think of). Sure most of those aren't really around just right now but that's not the point. They were until recently and Corona is not going away anytime soon, they'll be back. It's not about whether or not it's easy for users in this position to set up a 2nd account, that misses the point. The point is that it shouldn't have to come to that in the first place!

A side-note to that is that on iOs when you download and install an app from an account on a different region to the region of your main/daily app store profile, it won't be managed by that daily account. Meaning you don't get updates. You'll have have to think to log out of your regular account and go log into that 2nd accounts just to check for updates. Sorry but on iOs this is a pain and again just not realistic for most everyday users. The casual user won't do that.

Finally, I would make the point that if what you are suggesting users go do is so easy and practical, then why did this issue already get resolved for most European countries already, i.e. the Corona-Warn app got added post-release to the app stores of other European countries??

[melancholyaeon]

Hi Achisto:

I have DE, DK, NO, USA & CH APPLE IDs between my different devices. It's not difficult to do at all. But Apple does make it a pinch harder.

Every expat & many EU citizens who work cross-border does this. It's soooo common!

Best regards!

On Thu, Nov 5, 2020 at 22:51 achisto notifications@github.com wrote:

I've been told that perhaps the same is possible with iOS, but I do not have the possibility to try it.

iOS user here. It's possible and I actually have three Apple IDs (for Germany, Denmark and USA) but it's really uncomfortable to sign out and back in with another ID every time. Though as I see it just switching IDs for installing the app should be sufficient.

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/corona-warn-app/cwa-wishlist/issues/41#issuecomment-722666429, or unsubscribe https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/APY2ILUOBGIAHJJTXQIXJVTSOMM5VANCNFSM4OGR4ALA .

[domoritz]

If you install an app with a German iCloud account and then switch back to the US account, do you keep the app and get updates?

Regardless, I agree with the general sentiment in this thread that the app should be available in the US store to reduce the friction for people to install the app.