Apple and Google are jointly developing contact tracing technology to help people find out if they have recently come into contact with those found to be infected with the coronavirus.
Contact tracing is a useful tool to help health authorities track the spread of the disease.
This is a unique joint effort by the two tech giants as the tech community is working together to find solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Google and Apple are announcing a joint effort to enable the use of Bluetooth technology to help governments and health agencies reduce the spread of the virus, with user privacy and security central to the design” Apple announced.
In the first phase of the project, they will release an API that public health agencies can integrate into their own apps. The next phase is a system-level contact tracing system that will work across iOS and Android devices on an opt-in basis.
No GPS location data or personal information would be recorded.
“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 and Google said in a joint statement.