Google has added support for storing COVID-19 certificates in users’ Google Pay devices, with the support of Passes API.
The support was extended to let developers of various healthcare providers add their customers’ COVID-19 details to the Passes dashboard, which can be accessed easily and quickly whenever needed.
COVID-19 Details on Android Device
As many countries and service providers are mandating citizens to get vaccinated for availing services, eligible people are carrying acknowledgment certificates wherever they go, just in case.
While carrying a physical certificate or searching for an e-certificate through mobile downloads is a hassle, they can now add their authorized e-certificate from their service provider to the phone’s dashboard for quick access.
This is made possible by Google for Android devices, where eligible handsets with Google Pay app can now also save the COVID-19 details securely on their devices.
Google has updated the Passes API in Google Pay, which now lets government agencies, healthcare or other relevant organizations integrate the vaccine card or testing certificate on their devices.
Passes API in Android is used by various third-party developers to add cards like boarding passes, loyalty cards, digital tickets, etc to a dedicated dashboard, which helps in easier and quick access, and be shown to relevant personnel whenever needed.
To make this storage secure, Google in its blog post said the data is saved in the users’ device only, and never in Google Cloud. Thus, being offline can defend users’ health records from online breaches.
The data stored will not be accessed by Google, and is not used for advertising purposes. The stored cards data can be accessed offline and needs a screen lock for accessing whenever required.
Also, Google says users can add these certificates on multiple devices and access them according to flexibility. Finally, Google said this support will be first available in the US and coming to other countries soon. Interested developers can signup here.
