World Cup Apps: How Companies Should Respond to the Mandatory Apps for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar

The World Cup in Qatar is rather controversial this year due to a mandatory requirement for visitors to install two apps upon entering the country. Such is questionable with regard to data protection, and this article explains how companies can react if company smartphones are affected.

What Apps are Required for Traveling to the World Cup in Qatar?

Anyone attending the World Cup matches in Qatar will be required to install two apps on their smartphone when they enter the country. According to official information, the two apps serve the following purposes:

Ehteraz App: the official app for contact tracing of Covid-19 infection by the State of Qatar.

Hayya App: an app to buy World Cup tickets, use public transport in Qatar, and explore the country for tourism reasons.

It has become apparent that the Ehteraz app only requires installation as of November 1^st if an individual would like to enter public health facilities.

Both apps request access rights which means an individual must trust the app publisher, which in this instance is Qatar authorities, that such access rights are only used for a specific purpose that they outline. The same principle applies for every app that requires access rights.

Targeted Control via Mobile Device Management

Companies that are hesitant to trust these access right apps on behalf of their employees can complicate their employees’ travel in Qatar. If the apps are placed on a blocking list by policy with Android devices, or the installation of apps is prevented on fully managed iOS devices, this can lead to issues for employees who are visiting Qatar.

Although companies can ban employees from taking their company device on their trip, companies with a Mobile Device Management system in place can prevent specific apps from accessing business data by separating business data from private data through the use of a native business container. Additionally, Mobile Device Management allows for “partial wipes” of business data on devices for specified time periods, such as while employees are traveling in Qatar.

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