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| Apple and Google upgrade Corona's pre-launch tracking system |
Apple and Google have updated the technical details of the COVID-19 coronavirus tracking system, which is slated to be released on Friday next month. The new features will improve privacy and allow health authorities to use more detailed data.
The system, announced on April 10, will announce Bluetooth technology that allows government agencies to create applications that can alert people close to HIV. Technology does not use GPS location data, but it stores the most sensitive data locally on the user's phone.
The European government's plan to store data on a central server has sparked controversy over this approach. Without this technology (Apple-Google), these apps created by the government are restricted, for example the need to open the phone screen to function properly.
Health and privacy researchers also noted that the two companies resolved Friday's privacy concerns, making it harder to track people using the data created by the system. The number that identifies the user is randomly generated, so-called "metadata" such as the Bluetooth signal strength and user's phone model are encrypted, and the basic data of users in the vicinity is encrypted.
The two companies stated that (exposure time), the time when the two phones are close to each other, is rounded to 5-minute intervals to prevent the use of detailed time data to match the phone to people.
The two companies also tried to address health researchers' concerns about the ineffectiveness of the system. Since bluetooth signals can penetrate specific walls, even if they are short and dark, they can be recognized. Therefore, researchers are concerned about false alarms from neighbors in residential areas or from pedestrians in public places.
Apple and Google will now provide Bluetooth energy level data to estimate the distance between the two phones and the duration of the proximity. This allows the authorities to set their thresholds to determine the most appropriate time to alert people.
The two companies also said they will provide data on the number of days since the person last contacted to help the authorities inform users of the measures to be taken.