Frequently Asked Questions

They are both part of COVIDaware MN exposure notifications.

The COVIDaware MN app can be downloaded and installed on your compatible phone. The app icon will appear on your screen like any other app, and offers many features to help you use the app.

The Exposure Notifications is a setting that Apple built into operating systems for compatible iPhones, so users nationwide can enable it once their state has launched a full-featured app. There is nothing to download or install, and users can choose to enable the setting, choose the region they live in, and COVIDawareMN automatically begins working in the background.

The app and the Exposure Notification setting work the same way. They both use Bluetooth Low Energy and random keys to notify you if you may have been exposed to someone who later tests positive for COVID-19, and they both allow you to voluntarily submit a positive test result to inform others you may been close to.

Your privacy is always protected, whether you’re using the app or the setting on your phone. COVIDaware MN NEVER collects any personally identifying information, never knows your location, and never shares it with the State of Minnesota, public health authorities, Apple, or Google.

When you download the app or enable the setting, and allow notifications, the COVIDaware MN system will start working right away silently in the background. COVIDaware MN will generate a privacy-protecting “random key” for your phone. To ensure these “keys” can’t be used to identify you or your location, they change every 10-20 minutes.

Your phone and the phones around you work anonymously in the background, using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology to exchange these privacy-protected keys. This is a passive process that begins once you opt-in, functions without the app open, and won’t drain your battery.

Every day, your phone downloads a list of all the keys associated with positive COVID-19 cases and checks them against the list of keys it came across in the last 14 days. If there is a match, COVIDaware MN determines which phones were close enough for long enough, then sends an exposure notification to those phones.

COVIDaware MN is built using code created by Google, Apple, and the PathCheck Foundation. For more information, please see the links below.

• Path-Check/gaen-mobile : The mobile application supporting the GAEN Exposure Notifications protocol.
• GAEN Exposure Notifications Technology : Path-Check/gaen-mobile:
• GAEN Exposure Notification Technology | PathCheck : An end-to-end open source software solution for the Google Apple Exposure Notification API (GAEN) for COVID-19 public health authorities.
• PathCheck Foundation : Open source software for delivering exposure notification solutions in states and countries.
• Google: An update on Exposure Notifications
• Exposure Notifications: Helping fight COVID-19 – Google
• Apple Developer Documentation

If you test positive for COVID-19, the lab that performed the test will report it to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). You can get a verification code from public health authorities to voluntarily enter your positive result into COVIDaware MN so you can anonymously notify others of a possible exposure. If others get an exposure notification, they can then self-isolate and/or choose to be tested. Knowing about possible exposure early helps prevent other potential exposures, and that will help to slow the spread of the virus.

Anyone that lives in the state, or spends a lot of time here, should download COVIDaware MN.

When you decide to use COVIDaware MN, you are helping others in the community make informed decisions about their health, and doing your part to slow the spread of the virus. The more people that use COVIDaware MN, the better we can inform our community about potential exposures.

Download the free COVIDaware MN app today on the App Store or get it on Google Play.

Watch for a notification from Apple with the message “Exposure Logging: You can turn on Exposure Notifications to be notified of possible exposure to COVID-19 by the Minnesota Department of Health/COVIDaware MN.” To enable it, select the notification, and follow the prompts on your phone.

You can also go to the Settings icon on your phone, and select Exposure Notifications. Select the Enable or On button. Choose Minnesota as your region, then follow the prompts on your phone to enable COVIDaware MN.

COVIDaware MN is made available by the State of Minnesota with technology from the nonprofit PathCheck Foundation, Apple, and Google.

The current version is 1.6.1 (2473). To find out which version of the app you are using, tap the Settings icon at the bottom of the app screen. The version is shown at the bottom of the screen. Here’s what’s new in this version:

• Improved multi-language support
• Clearer information about verification codes
• More accurate exposure detection settings
• Support for simple verification code entry links

If you receive a positive test result for COVID-19, but haven’t yet been contacted by public health, call MDH at 651-201-5689, Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Ask for a positive test verification code for COVIDaware MN. They will verify your positive test result and send you a verification code. Please note that we cannot provide codes for at-home COVID-19 tests.

You should receive an exposure notification 12-24 hours after they enter their results.

Yes. COVIDaware MN works in the background on your phone no matter where you are, as long as Bluetooth is turned on. But your phone will not know if you are outside of Minnesota.

In addition to exchanging random keys with other COVIDaware MN users, COVIDaware MN will exchange random keys with other phones that use an app created by a state participating in the National Exposure Notification platform that is supported by Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL). See other participating states on the APHL site .

Please see Will this app work on my phone?

Note that you will not be able to install and use the app if your phone does not meet these requirements.

Your phone does not need to connect to WiFi or cellular data to exchange random keys between users. As long as Bluetooth is turned on, your phone will continue to exchange these anonymous, random keys with others. However, you do need to connect to WiFi or cellular data to submit a verification code, and to receive exposure notification.

COVIDaware MN will start exchanging anonymous random keys right away with other phones using COVIDaware MN. Your phone will need to be within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more for the phones to exchange keys.

No. All you need to do is download and install the app on your phone, and select “Allow” in all of the popup screens when you set up the app.

The only time you need to do something in the app is if you get a notification that you’ve been exposed, or if you want to report a positive test result in the app.

An easy way to remember is this:

     Positive Test – YES, you can voluntarily submit it in COVIDaware MN.

     Negative Test – NO, do not submit it.

• If you receive a positive COVID-19 test result, that means you ARE infected with COVID-19 (see the Minnesota Department of Health guidance). You can voluntarily choose to report that in COVIDaware MN with a verification code to anonymously inform others who were near you that they may have been exposed to the virus. 


• If you receive a negative COVID-19 test result, you do not need to report it. A negative test result means you are NOT infected with COVID-19, so you would not have exposed anyone else to the virus

No, your exposure history will not transfer to your new phone because in order to protect your privacy, COVIDaware MN does not save or backup any of the random keys your phone generates.

COVIDaware MN only works with other phones that also have COVIDaware MN. Each phone sends out Bluetooth Low Energy signals that measure the distance (how strong the signals are), and the duration (how long they lasted). If the signals were within 6 feet of each other for 15 minutes or more, each phone remembers that random key as a potential exposure. If one of the phones later submits a positive test result, and it matches up with a random key from your phone, you will receive an exposure notification.

To the best of our knowledge, Bluetooth signals can pass through walls, but not very well. COVIDaware MN has been adjusted to emphasize fewer false-positive readings. That means, if you get an alert, chances are you have been very close to someone who has a COVID-19 infection for 15 minutes or more.

The phones need to be within 6 feet of each other for 15 minutes or longer during a period of 24 hours. The phones calculate this based on the Bluetooth signal strength and duration. Both phones must be using COVIDaware MN, or an app from another state (see Does COVIDaware MN work outside of Minnesota, or communicate with exposure notifications from other states?).

COVIDaware MN never uses GPS at any time. This exposure notification app is completely anonymous, and never knows your location or your identity.

Yes. Bluetooth must be turned on to work, however, COVIDaware MN uses Bluetooth Low Energy that won’t drain your battery.

Read the privacy policy.

Installing and using COVIDaware MN is voluntary and anonymous. The State of Minnesota never collects any personally identifiable information from COVIDaware MN. Random Bluetooth keys are generated by each phone using COVIDaware MN. Each user's keys change frequently to further protect their identity. When a COVIDaware MN user comes into close contact with another COVIDaware MN user, their phones exchange Bluetooth keys. Keys are only stored in a user’s device for 14 days. No personally identifiable or location information is collected, stored, or exchanged.

If a user tests positive for COVID-19, they may choose to notify other COVIDaware MN users. To trigger such notification, a user who tests positive for COVID-19 must enter a test verification code provided by their public health contact investigator. This test verification code is generated by public health and only used to enter a positive diagnosis in COVIDaware MN, if the user chooses to do so. Once a test verification code is entered into COVIDaware MN, a risk calculation is made using the time, duration, and Bluetooth signal attenuation (proximity indicator) collected by COVIDaware MN for each contact event between COVIDaware MN users. COVIDaware MN users who are calculated to have been in close contact with the user who tested positive will receive an exposure notification.

An exposure notification from COVIDaware MN means the user may have encountered another COVIDaware MN user who recently tested positive for COVID-19. The notification will indicate a date range when the contact may have occurred and will link the user to guidance from public health so that they can learn how to protect their health and the health of others in the community. Specifically, COVIDaware MN:

• Never tracks your location
• Never sends information to the Minnesota Department of Health without your direct permission
• Never requires personal information such as your name or address
• Never sends information to Apple or Google
• Never accesses other information on your phone

No, COVIDaware MN only deals with exposure notifications. This helps fight the spread by informing others so they can take precautions.

No. COVIDaware MN does not use or store personally identifiable information and is designed to protect your privacy.

The technology does not record your location or use your GPS. It uses the Bluetooth feature of your phone to exchange randomly generated anonymous “keys” that are not associated with your phone number, your name, your location, or your IP address. These anonymous keys change every 10-20 minutes to further protect your identity.

The system uses a secure, decentralized design to determine if you have been in contact with a positive case. It is not tracked on any servers. After 14 days, or once an alert is triggered, the keys are permanently erased. The code for the service is open source , so people can verify that it does not capture any personally identifying information. See “How can I learn more about the code used to build COVIDaware MN?"

If you test positive for COVID-19, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will contact you. MDH stores the phone number and email information of individuals that opt-in to receive a verification code. That information is stored in a secure system that does not allow access by any third-party apps, including COVIDaware MN.

Each phone using COVIDaware MN generates random Bluetooth keys. The keys change frequently to further protect their identity. When a COVIDaware MN user comes into close contact with another COVIDaware MN user, their phones exchange Bluetooth keys. No personally identifiable or location information is collected, stored, or exchanged.

If COVIDaware MN detects that you've been exposed to another user who has tested positive and chosen to share that with other users, you will receive a notification to inform you of a potential exposure.

No, your personal information is not collected, stored or shared by COVIDaware MN.

Every phone using COVIDaware MN regularly downloads the list of anonymous keys for users who submitted positive test results. That list is compared with the list of anonymous keys it has encountered during the past two weeks. This matching does not happen on a centralized server, but directly on each user’s device. If a match is found, COVIDaware MN uses the duration of the exposure and the strength of the Bluetooth signal to determine if the exposure meets a risk threshold established by latest international research.

If the risk threshold is met, you will receive a notification on your phone that you have had a possible exposure to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. You can also check for exposures in the app or in your settings anytime.

No, your personal information is not collected, stored or shared by COVIDaware MN. If you test positive for COVID-19, you can choose to share the anonymous keys your phone has transmitted. Anyone you have exchanged keys with in the last 14 days will receive a push notification alerting them to a possible exposure—but the alert will not tell them where they were exposed or who exposed them.

No. The system is designed so that a person can only upload their positive result if it is coming from qualified testing sites and labs, and verified by a public health authority.

COVIDaware MN will only know you have a positive test result if you opt in and submit that result. Even then, your personal information is not collected, stored or shared by the exposure notification system.

When you test positive for COVID-19, the laboratory that conducts your test will submit those results to public health authorities who will then contact you to discuss recommended next steps.

During that contact, public health will provide you with a verification code, which is required to submit a positive test result in COVIDaware MN to prevent false reporting. You use this verification code to report your test result in COVIDaware MN. After you consent to share your test positive test result, COVIDaware MN will anonymously notify other users that they may have been exposed to someone who recently tested positive for COVID-19.

No. COVIDaware MN does not collect, use, or store any personal identifiable information or location data. COVIDaware MN is designed to protect your privacy. Neither your identity nor your location is shared with the Minnesota Department of Health or other users.

No. Your location is never used or collected in COVIDaware MN. The exposure notification system is based on Bluetooth Low Energy and does not collect any geolocation or GPS data. If you are using an Android phone and notice that the location setting is turned on, please see “Why is the location setting on my Android Phone turned on?”

Google has received questions about why the Android device location setting has to be turned on if you want to use an Exposure Notification app. The information and links below help explain why this happens for Androids 6.0 to 10.

To be absolutely clear, the Exposure Notifications System (ENS) used for COVIDaware MN does not use device location, and the policies for using ENS prohibit public health authority apps from requesting or collecting device location. Instead, the Exposure Notification technology uses Bluetooth scanning to understand what devices are near one another. On phones running Android 6.0 to 10, the Exposure Notifications System (ENS) uses Bluetooth scanning. For Bluetooth scanning to work, the device location setting needs to be turned on for all apps, not just apps built with the Exposure Notifications System.

Google and Apple have built in safeguards to ensure that government exposure notification apps built with ENS cannot infer your location. This is done through the rotation of random IDs assigned to your device, so that no one can track your individual device. The random IDs do not contain any information about your location when they exchange with other devices in the system.

If you need details about Bluetooth scanning for Androids, please see:

• About the Exposure Notifications System and Android location settings


• An update on Exposure Notifications (scroll down to Education and privacy protections).

• After you receive a positive test result for COVID-19, you may be contacted by public health authorities, and you can ask them for a verification code for COVIDaware MN.


• If you haven't yet been contacted by public health, call the Minnesota Department of Health at 651-201-5689, Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Ask for a positive test verification code for COVIDaware MN. Please note that we cannot provide codes for at-home COVID-19 tests.

No. COVIDaware MN starts working as soon as you enable it on your phone. It works in the background and you don’t need to do anything. You only need a verification code if you test positive for COVID-19 and choose to submit it.

You only need a verification code if you voluntarily choose to enter your positive COVID-19 test result in COVIDaware MN.

To get a verification code after you receive a positive COVID-19 test result, you need to contact public health authorities, or they may contact you.

You do not need a verification code:

• For COVIDaware MN to work on your phone.
• If you tested positive for COVID-19 before you started using COVIDaware MN, and you are isolating yourself from others (quarantined).
• If your COVID-19 test result was negative.
• If someone you know tested positive for COVID-19.

• You may be contacted by public health authorities.


• If you haven't yet been contacted by public health, call the Minnesota Department of Health at 651-201-5689, Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Ask for a positive test verification code for COVIDaware MN. Please note that we cannot provide codes for at-home COVID-19 tests.

A verification code will allow COVIDaware MN to match the random keys from your phone with any other random keys it has come in close contact with over the past 14 days, and then send exposure notifications to those phones.

Note: You only need a verification if you received a positive test result for COVID-19. You do not need a verification code if your test result was negative, or if you tested positive for COVID-19 before you started using COVIDaware MN.

No, verification codes are needed only if you test positive for COVID-19. The purpose of COVIDaware MN is to notify others you may have been near about their potential exposure so they can take precautions to avoid infecting others.

No. You should only enter a positive COVID-19 test results in the app. Remember this is your voluntary choice.

An exposure notification means that you’ve been in close contact with someone who also uses COVIDaware MN, and has submitted a positive COVID-19 test result. Here’s an example of how that works.

You and Person A use COVIDaware MN on your phones. One day, you and Person A are in close contact for more than 15 minutes. That signals both phones to exchange anonymous random keys. Your phones remember those random keys for 14 days, and COVIDaware MN checks daily to see if any of your random keys match with any reported positive test results.

A few days later, Person A gets a COVID-19 test, and receives a positive test result. Public health authorities contact Person A, they get a verification code, and voluntarily report the positive test result in COVIDaware MN.

Once Person A submits the positive test result, the system matches up their random keys with other random keys they’ve encountered during the past 14 days. If there is a match with your random keys, the app sends a notification to your phone to alert you to the potential exposure. It includes guidance for what you need to do.

You will only get an exposure notification if someone submits a positive test result in COVIDaware MN, and your random keys match up with the random keys they’ve encountered in the past 14 days, meaning you have been near that person and may potentially have been exposed to COVID-19.

The notification on your phone will appear like other notifications you may get on your phone (mail, calendar, social media, etc.). The way the notification looks depends on the options you have chosen in Settings/Notifications on your phone (banner, sounds, lock screen, notification center, etc.).

Notifications will tell you the range of dates that the possible exposure occurred. For example, the notification will tell you if you had a potential exposure in one of these date ranges: within the last 3 days; 4 to 6 days ago; or 7 to 14 days ago.

Notifications do NOT tell you the exact date the exposure happened, or where you were when the exposure happened (COVIDaware MN never knows your location).

The exposure notification will NOT tell you where you were when the exposure happened (COVIDaware MN never knows your location).

The exposure notification will not tell you the exact date of exposure, but it will give you a range of dates that the possible exposure occurred: within the last 3 days; 4 to 6 days ago; or 7 to 14 days ago.

See What is an exposure notification? How does it work?

No. If you get an exposure notification, COVIDaware MN will give you a range of dates (not an exact date) when the potential exposure happened. You will not get a notification immediately, because several things must take place before a positive test result can start matching random keys. See the question above: What is an exposure notification? How does it work?

COVIDaware MN checks every day to see if your random keys match with a positive COVID-19 verification. If there’s a match, your phone will get a notification about the potential exposure and a range of dates that it may have happened.

No, your exposure history will not transfer to your new phone. In order to protect your privacy, COVIDaware MN does not save or backup any of the random keys your phone generates.

Note: You may be exposed to someone who tests positive for COVID-19, but they are not using COVIDaware MN. In that case, you may be contacted by a public health authority, but you would not have received a notification from COVIDaware MN. Remember – COVIDaware MN only exchanges random codes with phones that are both using COVIDaware MN. The information below assumes that both phones are using COVIDaware MN.

An exposure means that you have been near someone who tested positive for COVID-19 for a length of time. Generally, close contact is considered spending a total of 15 minutes in one day within about 6 feet of anyone who has COVID-19. COVIDaware MN makes a best effort to use this definition of close contact when notifying users who have had close contact with someone who later tests positive for COVID-19. Because COVIDaware MN does not know a person’s location or their position relative to another person, it estimates distance apart by evaluating the Bluetooth signal strength between two devices. If someone was near more than one person who tests positive, that is also considered in its calculations and notifications.

If you have been near another COVIDaware MN user who later tests positive, COVIDaware MN will send a notification directly to your phone. The notification will suggest what you can do to help protect others in your family or community. By staying at home for 14 days, you can help stop the spread of COVID-19, and make it safer for others at work, school, and play.

If you are exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, you should follow guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health's website.

• The COVID-19 Test at Home program may be your best option for getting tested, particularly if you learn about exposure early in the 14-day window.
• If you would prefer to visit a Community Testing Site, make an appointment. If the site nearest you has no available appointments on the day you’re looking to get tested, either look at a later date or try finding a testing location a little farther away.
• You can contact your healthcare provider for their guidance about when and where to get tested.
• Get more information about testing.

Visit Minnesota’s COVID-19 website to learn what the symptoms of COVID-19 are and what you should do if you are sick.

No. The exposure notification will only give you a range of dates when the exposure likely occurred, but not the location or the exact time it occurred. This is because COVIDaware MN always protects your privacy, and never knows or shares your identity or location.

Make sure you are on the latest version of COVIDaware MN, and if you are not, update the app. Go to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Search for COVIDaware MN, then select Update. After you make the update, open the app and your notifications should turn back on. The update does not delete the random keys your phone may have logged while you were on the previous version of the app.

Try these two steps:

1. For the app, if you have lots of apps on your phone, or not enough storage space available, you may need to free up enough space to use COVIDaware MN. Your phone should tell you how much space you need.

2. Try turning your phone off and on again. We’ve learned from other people that it sometimes helps to turn your phone completely off, and then turn it on again.

3. Try uninstalling and reinstalling the app.

Your phone model may not be compatible with the app, or may not be able to update to the latest operating system. See “Will this app work on my phone” above.

If you have lots of apps on your phone, or not enough storage space available, you may need to free up enough space to install the app. Your phone should tell you how much space you need.

No, your exposure history will not transfer or reset on your new phone. In order to protect your privacy, COVIDaware MN does not save or backup any of the random keys your phone generates.

If you’ve tried everything else, please use the Contact us form to report the matter to our technical leads.