The end of the Luca app as a tool for contact tracing in the corona pandemic has been apparent for months. The application could not meet the expectations placed on it, many health authorities certified the app to be largely useless. In addition, data scandals and persistent criticism from data protectionists caused lasting image damage. The contracts concluded with many federal states expired at the end of March 2022 and were not extended. Now the Berlin operator Culture4Life is drawing drastic consequences.
As the company announced on April 11, 2022, according to t-online.de, it is completely discontinuing the option to collect contact data via the Luca app. The company wants to maintain the infrastructure for the health authorities in order to be able to offer their previous services again immediately if necessary. For the time being, however, the Luca app is history as a tool for tracking infection chains. But the makers of the software don’t want to bury their product. As advertised in advance, the Luca app should shine in the future with other services and serve as a digital wallet, among other things.
Luca app as a payment solution in the future?
In February 2022, Culture4Life announced that it wanted to save vaccination certificates together with the ID card in the Luca app in order to simplify access to catering facilities and events. This is no longer explicitly mentioned in the current announcement. Instead, the Luca app is now to become a universal digital tool to make life easier for people in the catering and cultural sectors and to fundamentally improve the customer experience.
Among other things, users should be able to place orders and pay via the application. Above all, the app should make it easier to give digital tips. What this looks like in practice and when these features will be available remains unclear. One thing is certain: With the discontinuation of the contact recording function, the Luca app currently no longer serves a purpose and is practically useless.