Back in March 2020, the Malaysian government announced that it would be releasing a phone app that would track the movement of its citizens around the country to curb the coronavirus spread, also known as COVID-19.

Malaysia’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said, “When a positive case occurs, they can see the movement (of the individual) and warn others close to the patient to go for testing.”

It would be the same technology that the Singaporean government is using to trace the infected.

One month later, the ‘Gerak Malaysia’ app was launched for everyone to beta test on both Android and iOS.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) told SoyaCincau that the app was developed based on the same technology used in South Korea and China.

The signing up process requires your full name, identification number, address, and email. Once you’re done, you’ll receive a TAC number to the registered mobile number and your account will be created.

The Gerak Malaysia app will require you to keep your GPS on, which is how it tracks your movement and inform you if you’ve come into contact with an infected person. Once your GPS is turned on, a QR code will be generated for your account.

The QR code can be scanned when you pass through a police checkpoint to know where you’re coming from and by hospitals and clinics to determine if you’ve been through red zones and flag you as high-risk.

All data collected by the app will only be usable for up to 6 months after the movement control order is lifted. Once the pandemic blows over, the app will deactivate and inform users to delete it, as spotted by SoyaCincau in the app’s Terms and Conditions.

The effectiveness of the app is determined by how many people are using it. Ergo, the more people use it, the higher the chance of it providing accurate tracking data.

Because the app is continuously using your GPS data, you might feel like your phone’s battery draining faster than usual. But that shouldn’t be a problem because you’re staying at home, close to your charger.

Gerak Malaysia app can be downloaded on both Android and iOS right now.