The federal government on Friday launched its delayed coronavirus exposure notification app in Ontario.

The Canadian Digital Service, the federal agency leading the national contact-tracing app's development, announced late Tuesday that the app is now in beta testing.

The app was supposed to be tried in Ontario starting early this month but the trial to look for bugs and other problems was delayed.

'We are committed to building and launching a well-designed, user-tested application that is secure, reliable and easy to use,' the federal health minister's office said.

Since the method is reliant on owning a smartphone, it might miss the mark with some demographics, experts say.

As restrictions loosen around the world and travel cautiously increases, there could be 'blind spots' in how we trace potential cases across borders, one expert said.

Since there is no cure for COVID-19, governments have turned to technology to create a sort of digital 'herd immunity' against the flu-like disease.

B.C.'s privacy watchdog says government and industry must collect the minimum amount of information necessary to stop COVID-19, and destroy it securely when the crisis is over.

The province launched the app earlier this month to help speed up contact tracing when there is a confirmed case of COVID-19.

Some companies are even requiring their employees to download a smartphone app.