The largest concern with this endeavor, though, is privacy. How do you track a person and who they interact with all day without compromising their privacy. Apple and Google say that is their first and foremost concern with this effort. “Privacy, transparency, and consent are of utmost importance in this effort, and we look forward to building this functionality in consultation with interested stakeholders,” Apple said. “We will openly publish information about our work for others to analyze.”
Here’s how they’re thinking it will work: In May, both companies will roll out APIs that work with both iOS and Android versions of contact-tracing apps from health authorities. So only users who have those download the apps can be tracked. Next, Google and Apple will work together to integrate Bluetooth contact tracing into the APIs, which will be an opt-in-only service. So if you’ve downloaded the app and opted in, your phone will know when its Bluetooth signal comes into contact with that of the device of another user who may have been exposed to the virus.
