'NHS COVID-19' Contact Tracing App With Exposure Notification API Launches in England and Wales

NHS COVID-19, a contact tracing app created by the UK government, is rolling out to residents of England and Wales as of today, with the app available from the iOS App Store.

exposure notification cartoon
The app's debut comes a week and a half after the UK government said that it would launch on September 24, and a month and a half after the app became available to NHS Volunteer Responders, Isle of Wight residents, and Newham residents, all of whom have been testing the app.

Like other apps that take advantage of the Exposure Notification API from Apple and Google, NHS COVID-19 is designed to track who people come into contact with each other using Bluetooth, providing a notification if one of those people later comes down with the coronavirus.

Along with using a Bluetooth-based solution, NHS COVID-19 will let users scan QR codes to register visits to locations like stores and restaurants to aid in contact tracing, with UK businesses being encouraged to display QR posters for visitors to scan.

NHS COVID-19 will be available on iPhones running iOS 13.5 or later as well as compatible Android smartphones, which are able to interface with each other. Downloading the app will provide instructions on making sure notifications are enabled and the feature is functional.

The NHS did not initially plan to use Apple and Google's ‌‌Exposure Notification‌‌ API and was instead pursuing a different solution, but after the announcement of the API the NHS changed course and decided to work on an app using the Apple/Google API after all.

‌Exposure Notification‌ apps have already launched in Scotland and Ireland, as well as in Canada, Denmark, Germany, Poland, and other countries. In the United States, Virginia, North Dakota, Arizona, Delaware, Nevada, Alabama, Wyoming, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania have launched apps that use Apple's ‌Exposure Notification‌ API.

More information on Apple and Google's ‌Exposure Notification‌ API, such as how it works and where it's available, can be found in our guide.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Wednesday October 1, 2025 1:26 pm PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, and Safari. More features and changes will follow in future versions,...
iPhone 17 vs Air and Pros Feature

New iPhones See 'Stronger Than Expected' Demand With One Exception

Thursday October 2, 2025 7:26 am PDT by
Nearly two weeks after the iPhone 17 series launched, analysts at investment banking firm Morgan Stanley said demand for the devices has been "modestly stronger than we originally expected," based on a combination of extended shipping estimates on Apple's online store and information it gathered from Apple's supply chain. There has been strong early demand for the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro,...
macbook air prime day 2025

M5 MacBook Air: Release Date, Features, and Performance Predictions

Friday October 3, 2025 3:39 am PDT by
The MacBook Air is Apple's most popular laptop – a thin, fanless machine that wields quiet power thanks to the efficiency of Apple silicon. While the M4 model isn't exactly old, attention is already turning to its successor. Apple doesn't telegraph new product launches ahead of time, but we can draw a surprisingly clear picture of what to expect by looking at Apple's silicon roadmap,...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26 Adds These 200 New Features and Changes to Your iPhone

Saturday October 4, 2025 8:19 am PDT by
Apple's website offers a list of nearly 200 new features and changes (PDF file) included in the software update, released last month. Apple also shared equivalent lists for iPadOS 26 and macOS Tahoe. iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 and newer. To install the update, open the Settings app on your iPhone, tap on General, and tap on Software Update. Below, we have highlighted eight ...
john ternus on stage

Gurman: Major Apple Leadership Shakeup Impending With John Ternus as Next CEO

Monday October 6, 2025 6:21 am PDT by
Apple is entering its most significant leadership transition in more than a decade as multiple senior executives prepare to depart and CEO Tim Cook begins to shape the company's next generation of leaders, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that Jeff Williams, who was viewed as Cook's potential successor for several...
Tim Cook Rainbow

Apple Event in October? Here's What to Expect

Monday September 29, 2025 9:31 am PDT by
Apple's annual iPhone event is in the rearview mirror, but rumors suggest the company plans to release a handful of additional products before the year ends. Will there be another Apple event this October? We discuss the possibility below. Apple in October Apple's most recent October events were in 2021 and 2023. In 2022 and 2024, Apple did not host an October event. Instead, it...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: Leaks Reveal What Apple Products Are Coming Next

Friday October 3, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
On this episode of The MacRumors Show, we discuss the latest leaks about the next-generation iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, Studio Display, and Vision Pro. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Earlier this week, an apparent unboxing video of an updated iPad Pro with the M5 chip was shared online. The same YouTube account leaked the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M4 chip...
space black mbp

Here's Every New Apple Product That Leaked Yesterday

Wednesday October 1, 2025 8:27 am PDT by
A handful of upcoming Apple products leaked yesterday, through a combination of YouTube videos out of Russia and U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) documents that were released, despite Apple's confidentiality requests. The leaked products include an iPad Pro with an M5 chip, as well as updated MacBook Pro and Apple Vision Pro models. All of these devices had already been rumored...

Top Rated Comments

jonnyb Avatar
66 months ago
Kent will have its own app, available January 1st 2021.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rctneil Avatar
66 months ago
It's definitely waaaay late but I am very very glad it's here now and actually using the Apple / Google API as it should be. I've been testing it for the past few weeks and it's nicely built and works fine. Persuade everyone you can to download and set it up and then as long as their phones are on and Bluetooth is enabled then it may make a difference.

It's not perfect, but none of our weapons against COVID-19 are perfect. IT's another tool in our belt against it so I'm all for it.

Go download it!!!!
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mattster16 Avatar
66 months ago
Meanwhile in the US we haven't come to a consensus on whether Covid is real or not!
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Psychicbob Avatar
66 months ago
It’s called HAL 9000 on the App Store
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gstevie Avatar
66 months ago

Up and running, though it should have been released months ago.
Yeah, wee Dom and his pals wouldn’t have gotten a nice pay packet from that happening though - would they?
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LiE_ Avatar
66 months ago
Installed and setup. My wife has printed out a QR code to display at her business tomorrow too.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)