Commissioner Domenico Arcuri signed a decree late on Thursday awarding Italy’s contract to a Milan-based startup called Bending Spoons.
The app, named Immuni, was chosen from over 300 proposals sent to the Ministry of Innovation.
The European Union recommended smartphone tracking apps as part of a roadmap unveiled last Wednesday to help countries ease restrictions that have prompted steep economic downturns across the bloc.
The Italian app is based on bluetooth, in accordance with the EU’s recommendations against using geolocation.
It stated that all apps used for this purpose should be used anonymously and voluntarily.
Arcuri’s decree in turn states that the free app must preserve users’ anonymity and not track location.
Instead, it will use bluetooth to log the phone’s movements.
The plan is to test the app in pilot regions and then expand it nationally.
No timeframes were disclosed.
Countries such as South Korea and Israel have used apps to help people determine whether they came close to someone infected with the virus, while Australia is considering launching a similar initiative.
