I do not want any Covid-19 tracking app on my Apple devices.

It cannot be removed as it is a part of the iOS. You do not understand that it is simply the ability to track, it does not track by itself. You must OPT-IN to use it and your state's health department must be using it. Our state has just begun the process and soon we will be able to track exposure to the virus. It is completely anonymous and you are free to chose not to use it.

I might add ALL use Apple products will get rid of them IMMEDIATELY and switch to a company that doesn’t force us to have apps on our devices that we do not choose to have.

I am always curious when I see this.

Who exactly do you think you are threatening here?

You are not speaking to Apple here. None of us are affected by your choice of device.

Speak to them here > Feedback for Apple goes here >>> http://www.apple.com/feedback/

If you are worried that the government is going to use this to track you don’t be, it is anonymous and some countries are upset about that. If the government is going to track you they will use the e911 on your iPhone. Apple and Google have already said the API will be removed when the pandemic is over.

You can buy a flip phone rather than a smartphone and it will not have the API. If you buy a really old one it may not have e911.

So you’ll presumably want to get rid of the device with the camera, the microphone, the many apps that track locations, and the cellular communications that tracks inherently allows tracking. Pretty much every phone now include GPS tracking as part of 911 services, too. Ridding yourself of that tracking device makes removing the cryptographically-anonymized and user-controlled COVID-19 proximity tracking moot, of course.

I was free not to have it on my phone as well. There needs to be an option to remove completely otherwise myself and my whole family which I might add ALL use Apple products will get rid of them IMMEDIATELY and switch to a company that doesn’t force us to have apps on our devices that we do not choose to have.

That will do you not one spec of good. All Android/Google phones also include COVID tracking.

If it bothers you so much, just turn it off!

Settings > Exposure Notifications

Notifications are already off by default. For the other option, turn Availability Alerts off.

Motorola has a new version of the Razr that you might like. It is a bit pricey.

All Android phones also have the tracing API. In both cases it is not turned on until you activate it or download and install a tracing app that uses it.

As always, it is best to purchase a device that matches your needs. A simple flip-phone should work for you.

No-one’s forcing you to have any app.