Google & Apple Tackle COVID-19 Together

Jointly Developing Contact Tracing Technology

Source: Smart phone stock images

Purpose: Slow the Spread of COVID-19

This is a very rare, global tech collaboration. 

Google and Apple power 99% of the world's 

smartphones. They've joined forces to develop

contact tracing technologies to stop

the spread of the coronavirus.

They are using their smartphone platforms

to do this.  They just made the announcement.

Potential: To Help 1/3 of World's Population

The importance of this new use of smartphone tech

is massive.  Experts say it has the potential to

monitor the conornavirus spread and help 

about one-third of the world's population through

smart information. That amounts to 3 billion 

people being monitored and helped.

Phone User Privacy

Google and Apple say their plan protects user privacy.

It's a phone user opt-in system to get an

alert if you and your phone have been in

close contact with someone who has COVID-

19 and their phone.  Specifically, it means if a

user of the system tests positive and adds

the data to their public health app, anyone

in contact will be notified. The purpose is to 

red-alert phone users that they've been

in contact with the coronavirus so that they

can be tested, treated and take appropriate

precautions to prevent the spread.

On a Fast Track

This new technology will be available by

mid-May.  Two weeks ago, Google & Apple started 

developing tech to allow mobile devices to 

send information via Bluetooth to alert users

that they've been in contact with COVID-19.

In May the program will rollout as software

tools to contact tracing apps endorsed by

public health officials, along with Apple &

Google approving use of the tools. The 

companies will build it out from there.

Privacy & Secureacy Protections

Apple and Google say the technology won't

identify the infected person, their phone or their

location to the other phone users who have

been in their proximity.  It is designed to 

just capture data when you and your phone have

been near an infected COVID 19 person's 

phone.  This is expected to accelerate the use

of apps that help get potentially infected people

tested and if necessary treated & quarantined

more quickly.  It's also expected to provide

more reliability in terms of digital contact

tracing worldwide.

Supporting Life After Lockdowns

This is a big move forward.  It paves the

way for digital contact tracing apps developed

by MIT and others.  They have been

struggling to make their apps work 

across competing operating systems.

Health experts say contact tracing &

measures to stop the spread of the

disease are needed to ensure that COVID-19

doesn't surge back when the lockdowns

and shelter in place directives are lifted.