Apple And Google Build Smartphone Tool To Track COVID-19

Tech giants Apple and Google are teaming up to create a system that would let smartphone users know when they've come into contact with someone who has COVID-19.

The technology would rely on the Bluetooth signals that smartphones can both send out and receive. If a person tests positive for COVID-19, they could notify public health authorities through an app. Those public health apps would then alert anyone whose smartphones had come near the infected person's phone in the prior 14 days.

The technology could be used on both Google Android phones and Apple iPhones.

The companies insist that they will preserve smartphone users' privacy. They say the technology will be used only by public health authorities to trace the spread of the disease. Smartphone users must opt in to use it. The software will not collect data on users' physical locations or their personally identifiable information. People who test positive would remain anonymous, both to the people who came in contact with them and to Apple and Google.

"Privacy, transparency, and consent are of utmost importance in this effort," the companies said in a joint statement.