Apple and Google plan software to slow virus spread
Apple and Google said that they will work together to create contact tracing technology that aims to slow the spread of the coronavirus by allowing users to opt into logging other phones they have been near.
The collaboration between the two companies could accelerate usage of apps that aim to get potentially infected individuals into testing or quarantine more quickly and reliably than existing systems in much of the world. Such tracing will play a vital role in managing the virus once lockdown orders end, health experts say.
The planned technology also throws the weight of the tech leaders into a global conflict between privacy advocates who favour a decentralized system to trace contacts and governments in Europe and Asia pushing centralized approaches that have technical weaknesses and potentially let governments know with whom people associate.
The companies said they started developing the technology two weeks ago to streamline technical differences between Apple's iPhones and Google's Android that had stymied the interoperation of some existing contact tracing apps.
Under the plan, users' phones with the technology will emit unique Bluetooth signals. Phones within about six feet can record anonymous information about encounters. People who test positive for the virus can opt to send an encrypted list of phones they came near to Apple and Google, which will trigger alerts to potentially exposed users to seek more information. Public health authorities would need to sign off that an individual has tested positive before they can send on the data.
The logs will be scrambled to keep infected individuals' data anonymous, even to Apple, Google and contact tracing app makers, the companies said. Apple and Google said their contact tracing system will not track GPS location.
Apple and Google plan to release software tools in mid-May to contact tracing apps that they and public health authorities approve. Apps including Private Kit and CoEpi, which had contacted Apple and Google for help a month ago, said the new tools would enable them to drop potentially unreliable workarounds.
Apps will be able to focus on developing a simple interface for users and healthcare workers, with Apple and Google handling Bluetooth and privacy issues, said Dana Lewis, a lead developer of contact tracing app CoEpi.
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