Apple and Google have announced a system that tracks the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, using iOS and Android phones.
Apple and Google have come together to offer a coronavirus contact tracing system for iOS and Android devices.
Contact tracing is something disease experts have painstakingly done for years to manually track the spread of viruses and contain the number of people exposed. Now, with smartphones, contact tracing can be done more quickly and anonymously. Apple and Google’s system will alert iPhone and Android users if they’ve been exposed to the coronavirus through « exposure notifications ».
Apple and Google have released APIs for app developers from public health authorities and governments. These are a set of tools or building blocks that allow app developers to integrate and offer COVID-19 Exposure Notifications. In other words, they can give their users a way to use Apple and Google’s system and be notified if and when they’ve been exposed to the coronavirus.
Hypothetically, everyone with an iOS or Android phone could opt-in and help quickly flatten the curve globally. AppleWhat are COVID-19 Exposure Notifications?
Apple and Google are calling their contact tracing system COVID-19 Exposure Notifications, essentially because, with it, iPhone and Android device owners will be able to receive notifications about whether they’ve been exposed to people diagnosed with COVID-19.
The system uses your phone’s short-range Bluetooth Low Energy transmissions, coupled with randomised tokens, to look for individuals who are within a few feet of you every five minutes. Your phone logs those tokens, and if someone who is COVID-19-positive has crossed your path, an alert will be sent to your phone about the potential exposure.
You will also be shown information about what to do to limit the spread of the virus or how to seek medical assistance if needed.
App developers from public health authorities and governments who wish to offer their users a way to be alerted if they’ve been exposed to the novel coronavirus can also integrate Apple and Google’s COVID-19 Exposure Notifications into their apps.
