MA COVID Exposure Alert System Discontinued

MASSACHUSETTS — MassNotify, the official COVID-19 exposure notification system for Massachusetts, was discontinued Thursday with the end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health said on its website.

The system could be voluntarily enabled on a person's phone, after which they would receive a notification if they had likely been exposed to the virus by another MassNotify user. The user was then given instructions on the next steps to take to help stop the spread.

By opting in, users’ devices shared anonymous codes with other MassNotify users using their phone’s Bluetooth technology, officials said. Several times a day, cellphones that had activated MassNotify checked for anonymous codes associated with positive COVID-19 cases and checked them against codes it had encountered in the past 14 days.

If there was a match, and the date, duration, and proximity indicated a person's possible exposure to the virus, they would receive an exposure notification.

Between June 2021 and May 2023, approximately 3.2 million smartphone users chose to activate MassNotify on their devices, officials said. The goal was to allow users to "reduce risk for your loved ones, seek medical attention, and slow the spread in your community," according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

With the announcement of MassNotify's discontinuation, officials reiterated that high levels of vaccination, widespread population immunity, and available treatments have significantly reduced the risk of severe COVID-19 disease, hospitalization, and death but encouraged community members to continue following the Massachusetts Department of Public Health COVID-19 guidance.