The StopCOVID NI proximity app will anonymously alert users if they have been in close contact with another user who has tested positive for the virus.
Following a positive COVID-19 test result, a person will receive a code that is then used in the app to trigger an alert to notify any other user or contact.
Swann said the app will cost no more than £1million to build and operate.
It’s been designed by health tech company Nearform, similar to the contact tracing app launched earlier in the month in the Republic of Ireland, and is beleived to be compatible.
The NI app will work alongside the Public Health Agency’s existing telephone based contact tracing operation. It uses bluetooth to exchange non-identifiable numbers with one another.
Health Minister Robin Swann stated: “It is vitally important that we minimise the spread of this virus.”
“That requires the identification wherever possible of close contacts of people testing positive. The StopCOVID NI app has a key role to play in this regard and I would encourage everyone to download and activate it once it becomes available.”
“Our Test, Trace and Protect is central to our efforts to keep people safe and sustain the relaxation of the lockdown.”
In the Republic of Ireland the code for its COVID-19 Tracker app has been donated as Open Source to Linux Foundation Public Health initiative. The move is hoped to help regions worldwide quickly build and deploy their own contact tracing apps.
The app has been downloaded by 1.3 million people, representing 30% of people in Ireland.
