Scotland's Covid Passport app has been called 'a joke' after people battled with technical glitches.
The NHS Scotland Covid Status app has been developed to allow Scots to show their vaccination status to allow them entry to large events.
Once logged in, putting in details and a photo ID, users should get a QR code that can be scanned to show how many doses of the vaccine they've had.
A new rule requiring people to show their status came into force 5am today, Friday October 1. However the legal requirement does not come into action until October 18, allowing businesses to get used to the app.
But as 'high risk' venues can ask for proof of vaccination from today, Scots were quick to download the app last night but were met with a plague of glitches.
Many users were faced with 'accounts do not exist' or 'no match found'. Others were frustrated with the amount of information they had to give to gain access, including a photographic ID.
We tried to use the app this morning and we were first shown a sign in or sign up option.
Clicking on the sign up button, we were taken straight to a 'Something went wrong. We're working on it' message.
We tried this three more times, re-launching the app but still no success.
Luckily, the paper copy with a QR code was sent after requesting it a couple of weeks ago and Scots can also download their proof of vaccination onto their phone via a PDF that can be scanned. You can find out how to get your proof of vaccination here.
But as England and the EU launched their apps in the last couple of months, Scotland was under pressure to have the same option.
As the NHS Scotland Covid Status app launched, many took to twitter to share their frustrating experiences.
One user said: "This NHS Scotland covid pass app is a joke. Taken about 40 goes for it to accept my ID now even with my CHI number is says it cant find me. Plenty others seem the same. Absolute joke."
"Predictably, the process to set up the NHS Scotland Covid Status app is absolutely dire. About 20 attempts already and no further forward. I take a photo of my driving licence and the app tells me it's a photocopy" Another said.
A third added: "have tried installing the NHS Scotland vaccine passport app. It doesn’t work. You can’t get anywhere without going through a facial recognition process that simply doesn’t work."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “More than 70,000 downloaded the App yesterday. This huge demand did mean that some people experienced delays and we are sorry that happened.
“We have now increased the capacity of the NHS systems that sit behind the app – where most of the issues causing delays have occurred – in order to deal with demand and, as a result, we are seeing increasing numbers of people now able to access their records.”
Some will be exempt from the scheme - including under 18s, participants in vaccine trials, those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons and people working or performing in venues.
It is hoped that the introduction of vaccine passports will help slow the spread of Covid and reduce pressure on the NHS as we come into winter.
