Saudi Tawakkalna App Resolves Technical Issues

A technical issue prevented access to the Tawakalna application in Saudi Arabia.
A technical issue prevented access to the Tawakalna application in Saudi Arabia.
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Saudi Tawakkalna App Resolves Technical Issues

A technical issue prevented access to the Tawakalna application in Saudi Arabia.
A technical issue prevented access to the Tawakalna application in Saudi Arabia.

Registered users in Saudi Arabia can now access the Tawakkalna application to prove their health status before entering public places.

The Tawakkalna management announced on Friday night that the technical issue that restricted access to the app during the past days was resolved.

“The app is working properly, and users can use it to show their health condition during their visits to government departments, shops, and malls,” it said.

“Work is also in progress to restore all features, such as Covid-19 Test Booking. Digital identities, Dashboard, and others," it added.

Tawakkalna is the official application approved by the Saudi Ministry of Health to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Further, the Tawakkalna management highlighted that under the supervision of a highly qualified Saudi team, the app worked properly and did not encounter any technical issues since its launch on May 11, 2020.

The management said that the app's services were efficiently and effectively provided to over 9.7 million users even in moments of high numbers of registration. It is also noteworthy that the number of registered users jumped to 12.5 million (%22.5 increase) in only three days.

Sign-ins' attempts reached 250 million in the past few days due to the requirement of showing the Health Condition via Tawakkalna to enter worksites, shops, and malls.

This increase caused an overload and instability; however, quick and temporary alternative solutions were provided, as text messages containing information about users' health conditions that were sent to Tawakkalna users.

Tawakkalna management thanked all users for their understanding of this technical problem, and it urged them to update the app.

In support of the Kingdom's efforts to respond to COVID-19, the management also emphasized that it will continue providing high-quality services to all citizens and residents.

The app, launched last year to help track Covid-19 infections, has seen a surge in registrations in recent days as a number of regional governors called for establishments to put stricter entry restrictions in place to curb the spread of the coronavirus.



Google Hopes to Reach Gemini Deal with Apple this Year

FILE PHOTO: Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks to media following his meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (not pictured) at Google Campus in Warsaw, Poland, February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks to media following his meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (not pictured) at Google Campus in Warsaw, Poland, February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo
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Google Hopes to Reach Gemini Deal with Apple this Year

FILE PHOTO: Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks to media following his meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (not pictured) at Google Campus in Warsaw, Poland, February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks to media following his meeting with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (not pictured) at Google Campus in Warsaw, Poland, February 13, 2025. REUTERS/Aleksandra Szmigiel/File Photo

Google hopes to enter an agreement with Apple by the middle of this year to include its Gemini AI technology on new phones, CEO Sundar Pichai said in testimony at an antitrust trial in Washington on Wednesday.
Pichai testified in the Alphabet unit's defense against proposals by the US Department of Justice which include ending lucrative deals with Apple, Samsung, AT&T and Verizon to be the default search engine on new mobile devices, Reuters reported.
During questioning by DOJ attorney Veronica Onyema, Pichai said that while Google does not yet have an agreement with Apple to include its Gemini AI on iPhones, Pichai spoke with Apple CEO Tim Cook about the possibility last year.
A potential deal this year would see Google's Gemini AI included within Apple Intelligence, Apple's own set of AI features, Pichai said.
Google also plans to experiment with including ads in its Gemini app, Pichai said.
Prosecutors have sought to illustrate how Google could extend its dominance in online search to AI. Google maintained its monopoly in part by paying billions of dollars to wireless carriers and smartphone manufacturers, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled last year.
The judge is now weighing what actions Google should take to restore competition. The outcome of the case could fundamentally reshape the internet by potentially unseating Google as the go-to portal for information online.
The DOJ and a broad coalition of state attorneys general are pressing for remedies including requiring Google to sell off its Chrome web browser, banning it from paying to be the default search engine and requiring it to share search data with competitors.
The data-sharing provisions would discourage Google from investing in research and development, Pichai testified on Wednesday.
Provisions that would require the company to share its search index and search query data are "extraordinary," and amount to a "defacto divestiture of our IP related to search," Pichai said.
"It would be trivial to reverse engineer and effectively build Google search from the outside," he said.
That would make it "unviable to invest in R&D the way we have for the past two decades," Pichai added.
Google has said it plans to appeal once the judge makes a final ruling.