You Only Have 2 Days Left to Order Your Free At-Home COVID Tests. Here's How

You Only Have 2 Days Left to Order Your Free At-Home COVID Tests. Here's How

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the

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Time is running out to get your free at-home COVID-19 test kits because the US federal government is ending its program soon. USA Today first reported on Aug. 26 that the decision was made due to a limited supply of tests. This comes just as the fall season approaches and as students start the new school year.

Over the weekend, US Postal Service updated its page for at-home COVID tests with an announcement that says the "order for free at-home COVID-19 tests program will be suspended on Friday, September 2, 2022."

The last day to order free COVID tests is Friday, Sept. 2.

USPS/Screenshot by Peter Butler

In January, the government launched CovidTests.gov, a website that let households order four free rapid antigen COVID-19 tests shipped by the US Postal Service. The site added four more free tests in March, and then another eight more in May. 

If you haven't received any tests, you can still get all 16 free tests, but you'll need to act quickly. Luckily, it only takes two minutes to order your tests. See below to find out how to get test kits, when they'll arrive and what to do if you have problems. 

How to get free COVID-19 tests

You only need to provide the US Postal Service with a few bits of information to get your free test kits. You won't be asked to provide any credit or debit card details, as both the tests and the shipping are free. Here's how to get your free test kits. 

1. Visit special.USPS.com/testkits. You can also get there via covidtests.gov.

2. Enter your contact details and shipping information.

3. Click Check Out Now.

4. Verify that your information is correct and select Place My Order.

All orders will be shipped via First Class Package Service.

People who can't access the website or who have trouble ordering online can call 800-232-0233 to order their free tests.

How can I track my order?

Once you place your order, you should receive a confirmation email. When your package ships, you'll receive email notifications providing you with shipping updates, including a tracking number and estimated delivery date. Note that for the third round, you'll receive two packages that'll likely arrive on different days, so look for two confirmation emails with your tracking numbers.

Once you receive it, you can either click the tracking link or copy and paste the tracking number into the Postal Service's website's tracker.

More free COVID-19 test kits are coming.

Sarah Tew/CNET

How many test kits can I get? 

According to the USPS, each residential household is eligible for three rounds of free at-home rapid antigen COVID-19 tests, for a total of 16 kits.

Only one person per address will be able to place an order for the free tests, even if you have multiple people living in your home. 

Can I choose which brand test I get? 

No, there isn't an option to choose which brand of test you will receive. All tests are rapid antigen tests authorized by the Food and Drug Administration, like iHealth.

When will the test kits arrive? 

Tests are typically sent out within seven to 12 days of an order being successfully placed and are delivered by the USPS within one to three days of shipping.

iHealth COVID-19 rapid antigen tests are supplied for free via USPS.

Angus Mordant/Getty Images

What if I haven't received my first or second batch of test kits?

The USPS says its site has had some difficulties recognizing certain residential addresses, especially apartment buildings, multifamily homes and residences connected to commercial properties. 

If you have had issues placing an order, you can file a service request online or call the USPS Help Desk at 800-ASK-USPS.

Is it OK to use a test kit that was left outside?

According to the FDA, manufacturers have ensured that the tests remain stable at various temperatures, "including shipping during the summer in very hot regions and in the winter in very cold regions."

But a test may be damaged by being left outdoors in freezing temperatures or being used immediately after being brought inside from freezing temperatures. 

The ideal temperature to store rapid antigen COVID-19 test kits is between 59 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The FDA has warned about the effect of extreme heat on COVID tests, saying that, "long exposure to high temperatures may impact the test performance," but also recommends simply confirming the test line on the kit. 

"As long as the test line[s] appear as described in the instructions, you can be confident that the test is performing as it should," the FDA site says.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

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New Profile Pic App: Innocent Photo Fun, or a Privacy Risk?

New Profile Pic App: Innocent Photo Fun, or a Privacy Risk?

Maybe you've seen some of your Facebook friends upgrading their profile pictures to look like fancy illustrations of themselves. They're likely using a free app called NewProfilePic Picture Editor, the latest social media craze. And while the new images may look glamorous, using the app may be a bad idea -- but perhaps not for the reason some say. Let's look at the facts.

What is NewProfile Pic?

NewProfilePic is an app you can get for iOS or Android. It does pretty much what it says -- makes your profile image look like a painting, using artificial intelligence. People on various social platforms are having fun tinkering not only with their own photos, but images of famous people and pets.

So what's the controversy?

On Wednesday, the UK tabloid The Daily Mail published a story with the unnerving headline, "Is Russia after YOUR personal data? Experts warn internet users not to download latest online craze New Profile Pic that hoovers up your details." ("Hoovers" as in "vacuums," for those not up on British slang.)

The Daily Mail quotes a security expert who says "this app is likely a way of capturing people's faces in high resolution and I would question any app wanting this amount of data, especially one which is largely unheard of."

Wait, what's the Russia connection?

Once the app became popular, people began digging into the company's history. It turns out the NewProfilePic domain was originally registered in Moscow. Given the war in Ukraine and the history of hackers working in Russia, just the mention of Russia's capital sets off suspicions for some would-be app users.

But the company isn't located in Moscow, though it does have an office in Russia.

"We are a [British Virgin Islands] company with development offices in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus," a representative for PhotoLab, the company behind the app, told me. "All user photos are hosted and processed on the Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure servers, which are located outside the Russian Federation. ... It is the truth that the domain was registered to the Moscow address. It is the former Moscow address of the founder of the company. He does not live in the Russian Federation now."

But these are complicated times.

"We understand that due to the current events in Ukraine, any connection to Russia could raise suspicions," the representative said. "That's why we want to share the position on this issue on our founder's Instagram."

In that Instagram post, company founder Victor Sazhin says he was born in Moscow, moved to Ukraine as a child, and is against the war launched by Russia against Ukraine.

Company founder speaks

Sazhin told me via email that he felt the Daily Mail story hyped up anti-Russia hysteria.

"I haven't been completely surprised [by the negative reaction]," he said. "Recently when our other app, Photo Lab, was No. 1 in Ukraine, when people were using it to create patriotic avatars with a beautiful effect we created, some Facebook [conspiracy theorists] started a similar story. And a few years ago when we first got viral in Bangladesh and India, there was another 'story'... but tying us to the CIA."

He praised the research done by Snopes.com, however. The urban-legends site wrote an article after the Daily Mail story was published in which it concluded NewProfilePic is not especially invasive, noting that, "the claim that this app is stealing data for the Kremlin is also unsupported by evidence."

"That [Snopes] review is comprehensive and I probably can't add anything to it," Sazhin told me. "The app is safe, the photos are processed on Amazon and Azure servers, and we are not KGB."

Shades of FaceApp in 2019

I spoke to cybersecurity journalist and author Bob Sullivan about the app.

"This feels exactly like the FaceApp situation, with one important difference: the world is at war with Russia now," he told me. 

Back in 2019, a similar app, FaceApp, was all the rage -- you could use it to age a photo of yourself or alter it in other creative ways. It was also based in Russia, and the FBI investigated the app.

War changes everything

"Many Russians are great developers," Sullivan told me. "Many Russians who learned to program there and now live abroad run very successful companies. The world needs Russian programmers."

Sullivan understands that Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and Russia's autocratic president, Vladimir Putin, leave many suspicious of apps related to Russia in any way.

"People have to understand that even if a person or company has every good intention of not sharing data with a government, they can be compelled to do so anyway," Sullivan said. 

The PhotoLab spokesperson told me, "We did not and do not plan to have any affiliation with any governmental organizations of any country."

You're giving away your photos

Russia aside, is it smart to hand over a photograph of yourself to an app you know little about?

"I really think people are crazy to use this app or anything like it," Sullivan said. 

Artificial intelligence researchers, he says, are "desperate" to acquire large datasets they can feed into a computer to perfect their algorithm.

"You have no way of knowing where these images of you might end up in the future," Sullivan said. "For that reason alone, don't do it."

The company representative pointed me to their privacy policy, which states, "The photos are sent to the servers through the encrypted connection. We use Secure Socket Layer technology to protect the privacy and integrity of the transmission process."

The policy goes on to say, "For non-registered users and users who don't share their results within the Services, the original photos and results are automatically removed from our servers by two weeks after the last interaction. For registered users who share their results within the Services that provide special social network features, the shared content will be stored on the servers and shown within the Services unless a user either removes the images themselves or requests such a removal by contacting our support team."

Permissions and pet photos

But what if you've already used the app? And are you safe if you don't use photos of your own face, but, say, of your cat or horse?

"The app probably has an ongoing way of feeding information about you back to its owner, so I would delete it immediately," Sullivan said. "Same for the cat theory. I don't know what they are doing with non-picture data. But every piece of info you share ends up in the horrible ad-tech ecosystem, with inferences drawn that would shock you."

The app's requested permissions are similar to those of other mainstream apps. 

"I do agree this app doesn't ask for more than many apps .... which doesn't make it right, but that's not suspicious on its own," Sullivan said.

It's the hot new app

The app is popular. On Friday, it was the top free app on the Apple app store.

"Without any doubt, we are happy that users enjoy our NewProfilePic and ToonMe apps so much," the representative told me. (ToonMe is a similar app from the company that turns photos into cartoons.) "And for sure we are going to do our best to create even more stunning effects and make even more users happy."

Company founder Sazhin echoed that.

"It seems we finally found the recipe with NewProfilePic," he told me. "It looks like a quick success (and it kind of is -- this viral wave started only last Saturday, one day after we released a new set of effects in NewProfilePic), but it was actually years of work."

Support your local artists

Even if a company has never had a Moscow address, users should think twice before agreeing to hand over personal photographs to an app you know nothing about, even for an elegant profile pic, Sullivan says.

"When you share intimate data like your face with an app like this, you have no way of knowing where that data will end up," Sullivan warned.  "If you really want a cool portrait of yourself, hire a local artist!"

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