NEWS INSIGHTS: APPLE AND GOOGLE WANT TO TURN YOUR PHONE INTO A COVID-TRACKING MACHINE

The new contact-tracing tool, explained.

Apple and Google want to turn your phone into a Covid-tracking machine

Apple and Google recently announced a joint plan to create an app for iPhones and Androids that will allow them to keep a record of every other phone they’ve come in close contact with – contact tracing, in other words. This functionality will use Bluetooth technology.

On Tuesday, April 28, Apple will officially make the contact tracing API available to software developers building apps that employ it on behalf of public health agencies. However, one major challenge with the app is privacy. But experts have said that the data would be stored on each individual phone and include no names or location information, only a “key” identifier exclusive to each nearby contact. These identifiers would be rotated on a randomized basis to prevent long-term tracking.