Can Apple and Google track coronavirus patients?
Joint software was developed to help health authorities create COVID-19 contact-tracing apps
Apple and Google can not track coronavirus patients.
The two tech giants on May 20 released joint software to support public health authorities (PHAs) that want to create COVID-19 contact-tracing apps that will help officials "contact, test, treat and advise people who may have been exposed to an affected person," Apple and Google told FOX Business in a statement at the time.
The software has a feature called Exposure Notification that uses "privacy-preserving digital technology to tell someone they may have been exposed to the virus" and "has the specific goal of rapid notification, which is especially important to slowing the spread of the disease with a virus that can be spread asymptotically."
A man wearing a protective face mask looks at his phone while walking in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday, April 10, 2020. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Apple and Google will not play any part in how the apps collect information; they are providing technology to help PHAs create their own apps that will notify users when they have been in contact with people who have tested positive for COVID-19 using Bluetooth technology.
APPLE, GOOGLE UPDATE CORONAVIRUS CONTACT-TRACING SOFTWARE PLANS
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 234.27 | -0.79 | -0.34% |
| GOOGL | ALPHABET INC. | 169.18 | +0.06 | +0.04% |
The Bluetooth technology that makes contact-tracing possible does not use exact location for proximity detection but Bluetooth proximity, or the distance between phones. The software's Bluetooth metadata is encrypted, which means neither Apple nor Google, nor any outside bad actors, can identify specific users by associating Bluetooth transmit power with specific phones.
Additionally, the software has a limited the maximum recorded exposure time of 30 minutes, so that when users are prompted to share their potential virus exposure time, an app will record that exposure time in five-minute intervals for up to 30 minutes to reduce privacy risks.
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Users must consent to contribute to PHAs' respective apps and share COVID-19 diagnosis confirmation with those authorities.
Apple and Google worked with a number of PHAs, nongovernmental organizations, academics, government officials and privacy experts to create the technology that will vary by PHA app. States cannot have more than one app that uses the Apple-Google software.