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Apple and Google have announced a collaborative initiative to create a program that will help government and health authorities in tracking the Coronavirus outbreak with the aid of data from consumers. The companies unveiled a two-step solution that involves application programming interfaces (API) and a broader system-level platform that uses Bluetooth to create a robust voluntary contact tracing network. Apple and Google have said the user privacy and security will be an integral part of the current program. In fact, the two organizations also released draft documents that outline the new program detailing.
Apple and Google Contact Tracing System
Apple and Google highlighted that public health officials have identified contract tracing as a crucial mechanism to aid in containing the spread of COVID-19.
In May, the two firms will launch a pair of APIs as part of their attempts to curb the spread of coronavirus, from which the public health authorities’ applications will rely on. The firms said the apps would then be available on respective app stores for users to download and voluntarily participate in creating the giant network.
Apple and Google will then work on integrating the functionality into the operating system, which will mean that anybody with an iOS or Android handset would take advantage of the solution.
“Privacy, transparency, and consent are of utmost importance in this effort, and we look forward to building this functionality in consultation with interested stakeholders,” Apple and Google said in the release. “We will openly publish information about our work for others to analyze.”
Contact Tracing Functionality
The API framework is designed for developers to install a “privacy-preserving contact tracing solution” according to the system documentation.
Upon installing the apps, any user can voluntarily report themselves as positively diagnosed of having the virus. Using the tracing keys of the affected user, the app would then alert others of being potentially exposed to the virus if they are in near proximity to the affected person. While the impact of the app-based system could be far limited due to the need for applications, the broader platform which is said to be integrated into the OS would lift the limitation.
It should be noted that, with privacy at the heart of the new system, no other data is believed to be shared apart from the individual tracing keys assigned to the device.
