GreenPass is a mobile app that aims to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 by helping users track and manage health data in a secure and private way. By utilizing decentralized identity (DID), verifiable credentials (VC), and distributed storage, GreenPass is able to preserve user privacy, which is critical given the sensitivity of the health related data being shared.
GreenPass has just rolled out an updated version with Blockstack enabled, providing more login options to users as well as a more secure experience.
The GreenPass app is designed to enable contactless access control at places like airports, offices, and schools, among others. The app regularly tracks conditions such as:
- A user’s COVID-19 status (positive or negative),
- Body temperature
- Geo-location (with the user’s permission).
If at least two conditions are met, i.e. normal body temperature + not traveling from a COVID-impacted region, then the app will show a green QR code indicating that a user may enter the premises. (If they are not met, the app will show a yellow or red status.)
GreenPass is among independent apps like CoronaTracker (another app built with Blockstack that allows users to track personal symptoms), which are focused on solving COVID-related issues while also respecting data ownership and providing users with a privacy-centric experience.
We’re excited to see apps continuing to use Blockstack to support their COVID-fighting efforts. It’s critical we are all able to support public health by doing our part to stem the spread of COVID-19, but it should not become an opportunity for tech and government organizations to collect and exploit our data. Thanks to work by teams like GreenPass and others, this is quickly becoming a reality.
See also:
- Decentralization: Preserving Personal Privacy While Fighting COVID-19 by Muneeb Ali
- New blockchain app tracks COVID-19 symptoms to reduce hospital overload on Decrypt
- CoronaTracker: Monitor, Notify, Educate — Securely and Without Complexity
