Warning app now for Huawei smartphones without Google services ApkRig
The German Corona warning app is now completely open source. This means that you can install the app on all Android devices, completely independent of the Google services. The program is available in the popular alternative app store F-Droid and the app can also be set up on new Huawei devices.
The German corona warning app has been in service for months, but not all users have been able to install it. Because anyone who does not want to or cannot use Google services on their smartphone was excluded from the warning program. Thanks to four programmers, this is over now. A reason to be happy, especially for Huawei customers. Since the Mate 30 series, the Chinese brand has had to deliver new smartphones without Google services.
Free software thanks to MicroG
The version that most of you have probably downloaded from the Play Store is basically open-source, but uses a proprietary interface from Google for exchanging device keys via Bluetooth. This function is now taken over by MicroG, an open source alternative to Google services. In this version, the Corona warning app also appears F-droid on, an app store outside of the Google ecosystem. So you can now install the app on all smartphones with Android, whether you are on the go with Google, use LineageOS or have a new Huawei smartphone.
The Corona app can get better
The new development also brings further advantages, as Marvin Wißfeld, main developer of MicroG, explains: “The free implementation has – in the spirit of free software – the potential for improvements that the proprietary interface from Google does not allow. That would be it, for example It is possible to display the time of the encounter in the event of an encounter warning. This can – if the user voluntarily transfers data – help the health authorities to identify hotspots or clusters or it can be used for statistical purposes to increase the effectiveness of protective measures. “
A completely open source software is initially limited to Android. The Corona Warning App is also available in Apple’s App Store, but the closed iOS system does not allow any alternative developments. The proprietary interface is retained here.
