Apple And Google Collaborate To Deliver COVID-19 Notification Message

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Google and Apple announced a new system that will allow health authorities to use smartphones to assist contact tracing without having to download an application.

The new system, called the 'Exposure Notifications Express', will allow health authorities to send configuration files to Apple and Google. Later, the two technology companies will use the file to set up a shared system when the owner of a cellphone is near someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

For iPhone, a new version of the iOS operating system released on Tuesday September 1st. Where users will get notification messages from local health authorities.

As for Android devices, users will also get commands from the mobile operating system. However, by downloading certain applications that have been created automatically.

The two companies said regions in the United States, including Maryland, Nevada, Virginia and Washington DC, would be the first places to get the new system.

The new system also works alongside a tool released by the two companies in May that allows health authorities to create an app that allows iPhones and Android devices to use Bluetooth signals to detect proximity to people who have tested positive for COVID-19.

notification messages with COVID-19 (doc. Appleinsider)

Six US states and around 24 countries have released COVID-19 exposure notification apps based on Apple-Google technology in recent weeks. The applications are compatible with each other, enabling cross-border tracking.

However, the effectiveness of exposure notification apps in helping to slow the spread of the coronavirus remains a major question. Many countries do not track detailed data on application use for the sake of user privacy.