Apple, Google Release Early Version of Their Contact Tracing Tech, Say 23 Countries Show Interest

Apple and Google said several US states and 22 countries have sought access to their contact tracing technology.

By Reuters | Updated: 21 May 2020 10:40 IST

Apple, Google Release Early Version of Their Contact Tracing Tech, Say 23 Countries Show Interest

Apple and Google have barred authorities using their technology from collecting GPS location data

Highlights

Apple and Google have said their system will use Bluetooth
Apple and Google have barred authorities from using location data
Several US states and 22 countries have sought access to their technology

Authorities in 23 countries across five continents have sought access to contact tracing technology from Apple and Alphabet's Google, the companies announced on Wednesday as they released the initial version of their system.

But authorities would have to stop requiring phone numbers from users under the companies' rules, one of several restrictions that have left governments fighting the novel coronavirus frustrated that the world's top two smartphone software makers undercut the technology's usefulness by prioritizing user privacy.

Apple and Google said several US states and 22 countries have sought access to their technology, but it is unclear how many will end up publishing mobile apps that use it.

France Looks Past Google, Apple for Coronavirus Contact Tracing

The #COVID19 Exposure Notification technology we built jointly with @Apple is now available to public health agencies in support of their contact tracing efforts. Our goal is to empower them with another tool to help combat the virus while protecting user privacy.
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) May 20, 2020

Using apps to accelerate contact tracing, in which authorities identify and test people who were recently near a virus carrier, has emerged as a tool to stem new outbreaks. It could help authorities test more potentially infected individuals than they would normally be able to based on patients recalling recent interactions from memory.

EU Urges Voluntary Use of Coronavirus Contact Tracing Apps to Speed Recovery

Technology can help health officials rapidly tell someone they may have been exposed to COVID-19. Today the Exposure Notification API we created with @Google is available to help public health agencies make their COVID-19 apps effective while protecting user privacy.
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) May 20, 2020

But some governments contend their app-based efforts would be more effective if they could track users' locations to identify hot spots for virus transmission and notify them about possible exposure through calls or texts, rather than a generic push notification.

Apple, Google Show What COVID-19 Exposure Notifications Might Look Like

Apple and Google have barred authorities using their technology from collecting GPS location data or requiring users to enter personal data.

"We have a collision of tech, privacy and health professionals and the Venn diagram doesn't really have a spot where they all overlap," said Chester Wisniewski, a principal research scientist at cybersecurity company Sophos.

Australia, the United Kingdom, and other countries that have sought to develop their own technology are experiencing glitches, draining device batteries and seeing limited adoption.

Most Huawei Phones Said to Receive Apple, Google’s Contact Tracing Feature

Apple and Google have said their system will more reliably use Bluetooth connections between devices to log users who are in physical proximity for at least five minutes.

Developers of contact tracing apps for Austria, Germany, and Switzerland told Reuters this week they were moving forward with the Apple-Google technology and were fine not knowing users' phone numbers.

Other governments are hedging their bets. Norway plans to compare the effectiveness of its Smittestopp app with an Apple-Google-based app, Gun Peggy Knudsen, acting deputy director of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health said in an interview.

Smittestopp, which has a development budget of about $5 million (roughly Rs. 37.8 crores), accesses GPS location and requires phone numbers. But it has seen limited use because of a low number of new infections.

"If the tracing is so much better with the Apple-Google tool, then perhaps we should switch and we would consider what we need to do to do the switch," Knudsen said.

North Dakota, which offered the first US contact tracing app, told Reuters on Wednesday it will leave its initial Care19 app as a location-tracking "diary" tool to help patients jog their memories. But it also will release a new Care19 Exposure app based on the Apple-Google technology.

The Australian government said it was in talks with Apple and Google about enhancing its COVIDSafe app, which currently requires phone numbers, postcodes, and age ranges.

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