Outlined in a post to Apple’s developer website, the company says that Covid ‘Health Pass’ apps are strictly confined to companies or developers that have a working relationship with public health authorities to ensure users’ protection and safety.
A ‘Health Pass’ app is listed as an app that creates a pass that is used to access buildings and access in-person services based on vaccination and testing records.
Apple says ‘Health Pass’ apps are limited to developers working with public health authorities
Apple says that with the arrival of Covid-19 vaccinations, the App Store has experienced an inflow of ‘Health Pass’ apps that would create digital credentials for accessing buildings and in-person services. The apps tap into potentially store sensitive user data because they rely on records of testing and vaccinations.
With the recent release of COVID-19 vaccines, we’ve seen an increase in apps that generate health passes used to enter buildings and access in-person services based on testing and vaccination records. To ensure these apps responsibly handle sensitive data and provide reliable functionality, they must be submitted by developers working with entities recognized by public health authorities, such as test kit manufacturers, laboratories, or healthcare providers. As with other apps related to COVID-19, we also accept apps submitted directly by government, medical, and other credentialed institutions.
To make sure that the users in Apple’s ecosystem are protected, the tech company has limited ‘Health Pass’ apps to developers working with recognized organizations like health-focused NGOs, government organizations, companies that deal solely in health issues, or medical institutions.
Apart from individual developers and companies, the App Store also accepts Covid-19 apps submitted directly by the medical, government, or any other credentialed institutions.
Almost a year ago when the pandemic was in its early stages, Apple proactively employed a policy that rejected apps not developed by recognized institutions. That decision was turned towards building projects like the Apple-Google Exposure Notification API.
Read More:
- U.S. House committee chairs urge Apple to improve accuracy of App Store privacy labels
- Apple testing new location for ads in the Search tab of App Store with iOS 14.5 beta
- Developer finds several scam apps on App Store making million of dollars
- App Store review guidelines updated in compliance with App Tracking Transparency feature
