Got any screenshots of your travel code on your phone? Keep ‘em. That’s because our green-arrowed, once-perpetual friend is no more, in the latest development that is at present an almost-daily step toward life as normal in the Middle Kingdom.
It’s but almost 2 months shy of being an aspect of daily life in China for the past 3 years. But open up the health code section on Alipay today and find the travel code has gone.
Ironically, it has taken until now, the code’s demise, for us end users to become familiar with its real name. Colloquially abbreviated to “travel code” (行程码), the facility was in fact named, “Mobile Itinerary Card” (通信行程卡).
But that’s suddenly now a thing of the past too. According to the code’s WeChat mini app change log, Mobile Itinerary Card was renamed “Account Cancelled” (该帐号已注销) yesterday, 13 December.
The move came after the travel code’s developer, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (中国信息通信研究院), announced on Monday the system would be deactivated within the next 24 hours, reports Caixin.
The discontinuation, made under order from the State Council, became effective at 00:00 yesterday.
Looking to the protection of privacy, it is further reported that all user data contained with the former travel code shall be deleted.
The mini app’s privacy statement is worded, “According to the promise of the applet developer, the applet has not processed your personal information at present. If you find that the developer has made false promises or improperly handled your personal information, you can make a complaint”.
With the travel code WeChat mini app first registered on 5 March, 2020, its deactivation after almost 3 years is a milestone toward China’s complete reopening, while many believe the centralised quarantine requirement for international arrivals will be a thing of the past as soon as next March.
