DGAP-News: Vonovia SE: Vonovia Supports German Government's Corona-Warn App

Vonovia Supports German Government's Corona-Warn App

- Vonovia recommends its employees install the Corona-Warn app

- Over 1 million tenants are informed

- Rolf Buch: "Corona-Warn app is an important prerequisite for returning to normality"

Bochum, Germany, June 16, 2020 Vonovia supports the German government in its effort to achieve the broadest possible use of the Corona-Warn app that was introduced today. To do so, the Corona-Warn app will be advertised to all Vonovia employees via push notification on their company smartphones - installation of the app is voluntary, however. In addition, the approximately one million tenants will be informed about the advantages of the Corona-Warn app through the Vonovia tenant app as well as in the customer magazine. The advantages include warning the app's users when they have come too close into contact with an infected person for a longer period of time. It can also trace possible chains of infection in the case of a new infection.

"We think the Corona-Warn app is an important step in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and an important prerequisite for returning to normality," says Rolf Buch, Chairman of the Management Board of Vonovia SE, adding, "The more people who use the app, the more quickly and effectively chains of infection can be interrupted."

How does the app work?

Whenever Corona-Warn app users encounter each other, their smartphones exchange encrypted random IDs over Bluetooth. These provide information on the distance between the people and the duration of the encounter. The app stores all the random IDs that the phone collects for a period of 14 days. According to the Robert Koch Institute, the incubation time - i.e., the time between infection and when symptoms of the disease appear - can last from one to 14 days. So the data collected will be automatically deleted after 14 days.

If an affected person voluntarily registers their infection through the app, their random ID will be made available to all other users. The app on those users' phones checks whether the contacts from the past 14 days include the random ID of an infected person and if critical contact occurred. If that is found to be the case, those affected are notified and given clear recommendations for action. The data of those notified is not accessible at any time.

What happens with the data?

The app is active on smartphones that are turned on and will accompany the user throughout their day. The data, however, remains anonymous at all times. The app does not know the names, phone numbers or locations of its users. This means the app cannot pass on any sensitive data to unauthorized persons, and data remains protected for the entire period of use and for all functions.

About Vonovia


Vonovia SE is Europe's leading private residential real estate company. Vonovia currently owns around 415,000 residential units in all attractive cities and regions in Germany, Sweden and Austria. It also manages around 73,000 apartments. Its portfolio is worth approximately € 53.2 billion. As a modern service provider, Vonovia focuses on customer orientation and tenant satisfaction. Offering tenants affordable, attractive and livable homes is a prerequisite for the company's successful development. Therefore, Vonovia makes long-term investments in the maintenance, modernization and senior-friendly conversion of its properties. The company is also creating more and more new apartments by realizing infill developments and adding to existing buildings.

The company, which is based in Bochum, has been listed on the stock exchange since 2013 and on the DAX 30 since September 2015. Vonovia SE is also listed on the international indices STOXX Europe 600, MSCI Germany, MSCI Germany, GPR 250 and EPRA/NAREIT Europe. Vonovia has a workforce of more than 10,000 employees.

Additional Information:

Approval: Regulated Market/Prime Standard, Frankfurt Stock Exchange

ISIN: DE000A1ML7J1

WKN: A1ML7J

Common code: 094567408

Registered headquarters of Vonovia SE: Bochum, Germany, Bochum Local Court, HRB 16879

Business address of Vonovia SE: Universitaetsstrasse 133, 44803 Bochum, Germany

This press release has been issued by Vonovia SE and/or its subsidiaries solely for information purposes. This press release may contain statements, assumptions, opinions and predictions about the anticipated future development of Vonovia ("forward-looking statements") that reproduce various assumptions regarding, e.g., results derived from Vonovia's current business or from publicly available sources that have not been subject to an independent audit or in-depth evaluation by Vonovia and that may turn out to be incorrect at a later stage. All forward-looking statements express current expectations based on the current business plan and various other assumptions and therefore come with risks and uncertainties that are not insignificant. All forward-looking statements should not therefore be taken as a guarantee for future performance or results and, furthermore, do not necessarily constitute exact indicators that the forecast results will be achieved. All forward-looking statements relate solely to the day on which this press release was issued to its recipients. It is the responsibility of the recipients of this press release to conduct a more detailed analysis of the validity of forward-looking statements and the underlying assumptions. Vonovia accepts no responsibility for any direct or indirect damages or losses or subsequent damages or losses, as well as penalties that the recipients may incur by using the press release, its contents and, in particular, all forward-looking statements or in any other way, as far as this is legally permissible. Vonovia does not provide any guarantees or assurances (either explicitly or implicitly) in respect of the information contained in this press release. Vonovia is not obliged to update or correct the information, forward-looking statements or conclusions drawn in this press release or to include subsequent events or circumstances or to report inaccuracies that become known after the date of this press release.