The companies will not allow apps using its contact-tracing system to collect GPS data.
Apple and Google will reportedly ban location tracking in apps that use their proprietary COVID-19 contact tracing system. According to Reuters, the two tech companies—which teamed up to help slow the spread of novel coronavirus—will not allow GPS data collection.
Instead, public health authorities keen to access location information about patients must rely on what Google and Apple describe as « unstable, battery-draining workarounds, » the news site said. Privacy advocates warned that, if exposed, health-related location data could put businesses and individuals at risk of condemnation.
Early versions of the contact-tracing platform rolled out to iOS and Android developers last week. The system uses Bluetooth signals to perform a « digital handshake » between smartphone owners; people can opt in and turn on notifications, and patients will be able to anonymously warn people of their positive diagnosis.
