Apple and Google announced today they’re partnering to work on Bluetooth technology that will allow governments and health agencies to better conduct coronavirus contact tracing. The companies stress user privacy and security will be central to the tools they develop.
The tech giants will collaborate on a “contact tracing” system which can identify people in contact with an infected person. and alert users. “All of us at Apple and Google believe there has never been a more important moment to work together to solve one of the world’s most pressing problems,” the companies said in a joint statement.
The first step will be release next month of software interface and operating system-level technology to let iPhones and Android-powered phones share information through applications provided by public health authorities, according to the companies.
The move comes with governments around the world studying or implementing measures to use smartphone location technology to identify people with the virus and keep them from infecting others, even as the efforts raise privacy and civil liberties concerns. Apple and Google said they will work together in the coming months to use standard Bluetooth capabilities relied on by wireless devices such as earbuds to be used to let handsets exchange information.
The solution they’re developing will consist of application programming interfaces (APIs) and operating system-level support to “assist in enabling contact tracing.” They say they plan to deploy the tools in two steps. To start, next month they’ll release APIs that will allow for interoperability between iOS and Android devices when using public health apps. Health care professionals who use those apps will be able to download them in the App Store and Google Play Store.
The system uses on-board radios on your device to transmit an anonymous ID over short ranges using Bluetooth beaconing. Servers relay your last 14 days of rotating IDs to other devices, which search for a match. A match is determined based on a threshold of time spent and distance maintained between two devices.
If a match is found with another user that has told the system that they have tested positive, you are notified and can take steps to be tested and to self-quarantine.
The project was started two weeks ago by engineers from both companies. One of the reasons the companies got involved is that there is poor interoperability between systems on various manufacturer’s devices. With contact tracing, every time you fragment a system like this between multiple apps, you limit its effectiveness greatly. You need a massive amount of adoption in one system for contact tracing to work well.
To address potential privacy concerns, the companies plan to develop the technologies in collaboration with “interested stakeholders.” They’ll also publish information about their work so experts and other organizations can analyze what they’re doing.
“All of us at Apple and Google believe there has never been a more important moment to work together to solve one of the world’s most pressing problems,” the companies said in a joint statement. “Through close cooperation and collaboration with developers, governments and public health providers, we hope to harness the power of technology to help countries around the world slow the spread of COVID-19 and accelerate the return of everyday life.”
