Android Users Can Now Store COVID Certificates as a Digital Card Natively

Google has announced that the company updated its Passes API to enable Android users to store and access COVID vaccination certificates and test cards on the smartphone in a “simple and secure” way. A Google blog post states that developers from healthcare organisations, government agencies, and other public health sectors will have access to these APIs to create a digital version of COVID vaccination certificate from the app, which the company is calling ‘COVID Card.’ The card-feature is currently available in the US and will roll out in other countries later. The smartphone needs to run Android 5 or later without any separate access to Google Play to use this COVID Card feature. The information in the user’s COVID Card is further not shared by the company with its various services or third parties for ‘targeted ads.’ Android users can also protest the COVID Card with a lock screen, meaning a pin or biometric authentication will be required to access the certificate.