Apple and Google launch a Covid-19 tracking tool

Apple and Google Launch Joint Covid-19 Tracking System

Tech giants Apple and Google are teaming up to create a system that would let smartphone users know when they've come into contact with someone who has COVID-19.

The technology would rely on the Bluetooth signals that smartphones can both send out and receive. If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they could notify public health authorities through an app. Those public health apps would then alert anyone whose smartphones had come near the infected person's phone in the prior 14 days.

The technology could be used on both Google Android phones and Apple iPhone.

The companies insist that they will preserve smartphone users' privacy. Smartphone users must opt in to use it. The software will not collect data on users' physical locations or their personally identifiable information. People who test positive would remain anonymous, both to the people who came in contact with them and to Apple and Google.

Apple and Google will not be doing the contact tracing themselves, but are making their smartphone platforms available for governments and NGOs. These will then still face the thorny problem of designing apps that people want to use while not compromising privacy. However, the Silicon Valley companies said they would only support opt-in apps that use privacy-preserving Bluetooth technology, rather than GPS location tracking. Researchers at Oxford university have found that at least 60 per cent of a given population would need to use such tools for them to be effective.