As a location intelligence company with easily integratable technology for apps, we love to see all of the location-tech apps being developed around the world. Many different industries can use location technology—from mobile payments to retail and travel to hospitality and beyond.
At this time of global crisis, however, we see an incredible number of COVID-19 apps popping up to support in the response to the pandemic. Using location technology, these apps can be useful to support people to pick up their lives again as soon as lockdowns are eased.
These are our top 7 picks of COVID-19 apps that use location tech and stand out from the crowd. These apps focus on contact tracing, information dissemination and crowd management. In addition, there are many more apps and initiatives out there managing the pandemic and helping people live safely.
*This blog was written by PlotProjects, the leading provider of geofencing and location-based technology. If you’re a business with an app, contact us to find out more about how our platform can drive results for your business.
DoveFila
Italy – ShopFully, a Plot Projects partner, has recently created the DoveFila app. The app is a live map showing waiting lines outside various supermarkets to allow users to plan their visits when there are fewer crowds. Unlike U-First which only covers Milan, DoveFila works throughout Italy. People who use the service directly feed the data shown on the map.
TraceTogether
Singapore – TraceTogether was one of the first to launch such an app. The app uses Bluetooth technology to identify other nearby phones that have the app installed. It then tracks when a user is close to others and uses timestamping to mark the encounters. The contact information between two users helps to determine how close and how long they were with one another.
Private Kit
US – Private Kit: Safe Paths is a collaboration between the PathCheck and SafePaths teams of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
In this app, users share their location data and can see if they have crossed paths with a person with coronavirus — as long as that person has also shared their positive status. Users are not able to see who the positive-testing person is. Individuals who test positive can opt to share their location data with health authorities, who then can make it publicly available to other users.
The GPS trail is logged and stored locally (private) and the app seems to leverage both GPS and Bluetooth. The design looks promising and they have also teamed up with the Covid Watch initiative.
StopCovid19
Italy – The goal of the StopCovid19 app is to use Bluetooth-enabled backtracing technology to trace back the contact users have had with potentially infected people and to notify them if they have. With user’s consent, the app uses the device’s location data and memorizes a user’s movements.
Health authorities can also get in touch directly with potentially infected people and take necessary measures to tackle further spread. The app is currently waiting for approval in the app stores.
COVID Radar
The Netherlands – In the Netherlands, testing has been limited so far, so COVID Radar is aiming to help with symptom tracking. The app collects symptom data from as many users in the Netherlands as possible.
The goal is to monitor how many people have (had) the coronavirus and where they reside in the country. With this data, COVID Radar tries to predict future care demand for corona patients nationwide. The app avoids privacy issues and aims to inform and predict, as well as to help map the spread.
Coronamadrid
Spain – The Coronamadrid app enables users who feel unwell to carry out a self-test in case they notice any symptoms. Questions include, for example: Do you have a cough, a temperature or breathing difficulties? The app evaluates users regularly, offering recommendations based on the results.
In addition, Coronamadrid includes an optional location function. This helps the medical services obtain the information for a faster and more efficient response in each individual case.
Crowdless
Global – Crowdless (formerly Keep Your Distance) is a still-to-be-launched app providing real-time data across the globe on the busyness of supermarkets and pharmacies, so users can plan their visits and maintain social distances.
The app uses AI, Google Maps data and crowdsourced data, as well as the device’s current location. In that way, it displays the most relevant results and makes suggestions for other nearby, less crowded alternatives as needed. The app doesn’t collect any personally identifiable data.
Using PlotProjects’ location intelligence to live smartly and safely with COVID-19
Like the creators behind the 7 apps, PlotProjects is also committed to supporting app developers using location technology to better manage living with COVID-19. PlotProjects is offering its location tracking technology for free for up to 100.000 monthly tracked users (Pricing Growth Plan). We are also supporting apps with a fair pricing policy that need to reach more than 100.000 monthly tracked users (Enterprise Plan).
Organizations can leverage our location-tech expertise for contact tracing, quarantine support, monitoring virus spread, crowd management, facilitating community help initiatives and so much more. Learn more about what PlotProjects is doing and how we can manage COVID-19 together so we can all live our lives smartly and safely.
Ready to get started with PlotProjects?
Powering your app with location-based technology is a powerful and cost-effective way to drive sales. If you need help getting started or you want to find out more about how our platform can drive results for your business, contact PlotProjects today.
You can try our demo app for free, or download one of our customer’s apps to see how it works. Don’t have an app? No problem. We can create a custom geofencing app using the PlotProjects technology.
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