As world governments try to stop the current Coronavirus pandemic, the WHO is trying to prevent the spread of misinformation and hoaxes. In an effort to combat the spread of misinformation through social media, the WHO is preparing to launch an official app for Android, iOS, as well as a website.
WHO App to avoid misinformation and hoaxes about the Coronavirus
The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is still spreading around the world and all countries are trying to fight this epidemic. However, aside from fighting this deadly virus, we saw many major companies take steps to prevent the spread and circulation of fake news and misinformation on social media.
Now, the WHO is developing its own mobile application, which will transmit relevant and updated information on the SARS-COV-2 pandemic to users.
Who my health
The app, as of now, is called "WHO MyHealth" and was initially suggested by a team of experts called "The Covid App Collective." The team includes some former Microsoft and Google employees along with advisers and health experts from the WHO.
At the moment, the app is developed as an open source project and will be released on iOS and Android on March 30. Due to the open source nature of the app, 9to5Mac was able to obtain an early version of the app. According to them, the old version of the app contains the same information as the WHO WhatsApp chatbot.
Truthful information about the coronavirus, without hoaxes
However, according to developer notes, the application will be able to do much more than that. It will offer information based on the user's location. This means that users will be able to get the latest updates on the disease close to them and in their preferred languages.
There is also mention of a "Self-Assessment" Tool that will help users diagnose whether or not they have symptoms of COVID-19.
Aside from this, there is one cool feature that may or may not make its way to the final version of the app. This refers to tracking the location history of users to see if they have come into contact with any contagious person or not. However, this will pose a privacy risk to users as the app needs to access the device's in-depth location history.
Now, despite these efforts by the WHO and other organizations, there are still people who take this pandemic casually. Please, we ask you to be responsible and follow the WHO Guidelines as much as you can and stay home. Is better Netflix and relax, than go out and get infected!