In times like the COVID-19 pandemic, the smartphone is the central means of communication for sharing health information quickly and reliably, even during measures such as lockdown and social distancing. The variety of pandemic apps, i.e. apps that have been developed in hackathons, for example, to master COVID-19, shows the great potential that many experts see in them. However, for apps to be effective in the pandemic, they need to be used by many people. This applies not only to the coronavirus warning app, but also in particular to apps for assessing individual risk, e.g. in the case of certain pre-existing conditions. It is therefore necessary for such apps to be trusted by the general public and for data to be analysed for medical research with the consent of the user. This raises important questions for users, such as appropriate data protection and control over the data. On the other hand, developers are faced with the problem of developing apps in a user-friendly and data protection-compliant way, even under extreme time pressure, as every day often counts in times of a pandemic. As part of COMPASS, we have built a platform for the sustainable coordination of best practices in the development and use of pandemic apps based on the numerous experiences gained in recent months in accordance with the state of the art in science, technology and legislation. This also includes the provision of concrete methods and tools for the use of health apps in a pandemic. The aim was to create the organisational and technical conditions to ensure that mobile apps can be used as quickly as possible and in the best possible way to manage pandemics in the future.