Since late Sunday afternoon, the World Cup has officially started in Qatar, an opportunity for hundreds of thousands of supporters to travel to Qatar to watch matches and support their country. Many French supporters made the trip, but beware… The National Commission for Computing and Liberties (CNIL) recommends caution to those who are currently in Qatar (or who will go there).
2 iOS and Android applications are denounced by the CNIL
If you are one of those who are going to support the French team in Qatar, the CNIL recommends that you be particularly attentive two applications available on the App Store and the Google Play Store.
Indeed, Qatar asks visitors to download these apps:
- Hayya : it will allow you to follow the World Cup and download your tickets in order to present them to access the stadium
- Etheraz : this is the Covid tracking application in Qatar, it is an identical app to TousAntiCovid in France
These applications that seem harmless at first glance are actually accused of being spyware by the CNIL and other organizations around the world.
According to the Politico outlet that first raised the alert, once you download these apps, authorities in Qatar can access a lot of personal data in your smartphone.
Whether Hayya or Etheraz, applications are capable of initiating calls, consulting, modifying or deleting content. Be it iPhone or Android smartphones, no one would be safe once these apps are downloaded.
What does the CNIL recommend?
If you are going to see World Cup matches in Qatar, you will have no choice but to download Hayya and Etheraz. Without it, you will not be able to access the matches of the competition, which would be a bit of a shame, especially if you made the trip to support the Blues !
The CNIL therefore advises French people not to bring their personal smartphone when traveling to Qatar, if you have the possibility, use a smartphone that you do not use on a daily basis. If you cannot, it is highly recommended to uninstall directly these 2 applications once you leave Qatar.
Another important detail, the CNIL is launching a Warning about the photos you might take or have in your smartphone storage during your trip, Qatar has very strict laws on this.
Particular attention should be paid to photos, videos or digital works that could put you in difficulty with the legislation of the country visited.
If you are about to go to Qatar or are already there, delete intimate photos and videos and delete LGBT dating apps.
Via