COVID-19 API-What it is, what it is not
[Updated 2 October 2020]
What it is
On April 10, 2020 Apple and Google jointly announced support for services that could be used for self-monitoring exposure to the novel coronavirus. Here is the joint information release from Apple and Google: https://www.google.com/covid19/exposurenotifications/
Here is Google and Apple's technical description and FAQ—>https://covid19-static.cdn-apple.com/applications/covid19/current/static/contact-tracing/pdf/ExposureNotification-FAQv1.2.pdf
What both Apple and Google have agreed is to add an API (Application Programming Interface) to iOS and Android, respectively, that would permit the use of such an app. For iOS the API is in iOS 13.5 and subsequent releases.
The most important point is that an app that uses this API is NOT an app that allows the user to be tracked; it is a tracing capability, and doesn’t track. It was very specifically created to block tracking any individual. Some government agencies around the world have said they will not use it, specifically because it cannot track individuals, which they feel is important to managing the pandemic. They are developing their own apps that do permit tracking individuals with novel coronavirus exposure.
The tracing feature will work with government health departments that implement their own version of the API and release an app. But it still will only work if you download the app and actually turn it on, and still will only inform you, not the government, of your exposure status.
Here are the developer guidelines—>https://www.coronawarn.app/en/faq/
Availability
The first actual release of an app to use the API was for parts of Italy. Other countries have begun releasing them:
- Here is the English language FAQ for the Italian app—>https://www.immuni.italia.it/faq.html. There is a dropdown in the upper right corner of the page for other languages.
- Germany—>The Federal German Government: Coronavirus Warning App
- Switzerland—>https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-06-swiss-covid-app.html
The availability of apps is growing in the US. A NY region app, developed in cooperation with Bloomberg Philanthropies, was released in several states (NY, NJ, DE, and PA) on October 1, 2020. Connecticut will be added soon. It is available from the App Store; to find out if your state has one open the App Store and search for “COVID alert [state abbreviation]"; for example, “COVID alert NJ”.
How it works
A user can choose to enable the tracing feature. By default the API is disabled on iPhones, and you must explicitly enable it IF your local health department chooses to implement their end of it. If you do so it will ask you some questions to determine if you MIGHT be a carrier of the novel coronavirus. When you are near (within 3 meters, or about 10 feet) of another user who has also installed the app and indicated in the app that they have symptoms. It will use encrypted Bluetooth low Energy (BLE) connectionless technology to notify your app that you might have been exposed. You will not know who the other person is, only that they have the app and may be a carrier, and they will not know who you are. The only place this information is saved is on your phone; it is not provided to any government or health agency.
The random IDs of other devices your phone encounters are stored on the phone for 14 days. You can authorize an app to read the log of exposures and notify you if you might have been exposed to COVID-19. You can also choose to share your exposure information to other phones anonymously.
What it isn't
The API is not for “tracking”. Your phone is already tracked, whether you have an app or not, whether you enable the API or not. All cell phones are tracked continuously; that train left the station 30 years ago. The API does not add anything additional to the universal tracking of all cell phones. Still, if you are nervous about it just don’t enable the API (it’s in Settings/Exposure Notifications in iOS 14).
Press Reactions
On the whole the US and international press has been positive, with some uncertainty. Some of the negativity centers around the fact that it doesn’t work unless there is wide acceptance of the technology. Here are some responses:
Forbes: iPhone And Android App For COVID-19 Contact Tracing Will ...
Charleston Post & Courier: https://www.postandcourier.com/health/covid19/google-apple-and-musc-team-up-on-a-contact-tracing-app-for-sc/article_6553153c-9b69-11ea-9ca7-bb928727bd6b.html
9 to 5 Mac: https://9to5mac.com/2020/05/19/how-to-turn-on-off-covid-19-contact-tracing-iphone-ios/
Lifesite News: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/apple-updates-iphone-to-work-with-covid-19-contact-tracing-apps
CNET: https://www.cnet.com/news/how-youll-get-apple-and-googles-contact-tracing-update-for-your-phone/
Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-google-covid-19-contact-tracing-smartphone-screenshots-2020-5?op=1
