2020-11-29 - TousAntiCovid

Today I received a text from the French government. It's the second time, the first one was at the beginning of the first lockdown in March. I didn't know that they could broadcast texts like that, and I don't know why the second one is right now, and not like at the beginning of the second lockdown a month ago, but anyway.

It roughly translates to:

> Businesses reopen and more people will cross paths. To keep the pandemic under control, Health Minister recommends to download TousAntiCovid app from now [URL]. More than 10 millions of French persons already use it. They are notified earlier in case of contact with the virus and have access to a test.

Context: France is still under lockdown, but businesses such as bookstores, florists, clothes shops, etc. reopen.

So, about this app. It has been out since June. Most European countries have one, but France is the only one (that I know) to have chosen a centralized solution instead of decentralized technology. So basically, your phone has leaks and grabs data through Bluetooth, then sends everything to private company servers. And obviously, these servers are a black box. About the company handling the app development and servers, it is one of those very large IT consulting corporation with a very bad rep, bad management and low salaries.

When it comes to IT, we can always trust our government and law makers to make the worst possible choices.

That being said, I don't really know where to stand. Am I right to be reluctant to install a government tracker on my phone? Or am I being blindfolded by my free-software views and acting like a basic anti-masker?