COVID-19 is still impacting the everyday lives of people around the world. It is also going to have a permanent impact on the global economy as well as change the way a lot of industries operate.
Since Drover is in a niche that is simultaneously impacted and considered as a way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is only natural that we show interest in innovations that can help out.
A lot of people were wondering when the biggest tech giants would join the effort to combat the pandemic. Well, Google and Apple announced a collaborative effort to create an app to help with prevention and containment.
Here is what we know so far.
The Collaboration Announcement
On April 10th, both Google and Apple announced on their respective channels that the collaboration is going to take place.
The announcement recognized the effort governments and healthcare organizations are putting in to combat this disease. They also stressed the importance of tech companies joining the fight and offering new solutions.
The announcement pitches the use of Bluetooth technology present in the vast majority of phones to track contacts reliably.
They expect to develop APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that allow iOS and Android devices to communicate. The communication will occur when devices are using apps from public healthcare providers.
This is only the beginning of the project. Both sides plan to integrate this system into their OSs to broaden its application in the coming months. Users can choose to opt-in or out of this program. They will also have the opportunity to decide if they want the data to be available to the government and public healthcare ecosystems.
The collaboration between two major tech giants comes as a bit of a surprise. Historically, these companies have stood at odds with each other to some extent. They are direct competitors, but it seems that this global crisis blurs the lines drawn in the sand as unimportant - as it should.
The Question of Privacy
With the rapid pace of IT in the last three to four decades, we’ve become a bit wary of tracking and information gathering. In some instances, it seems that tech is developing faster than we can regulate its application.
It is no wonder that there are concerns about the privacy of data and tracking of movement for people who decide to opt-in. So far, public data has been misused by both the private and government sectors. So, even if this is a noble cause at its core, some public push back is to be expected, right?
Well, Google and Apple are seemingly well aware of this. In their announcement, they take special care to emphasize that there would be an option not to be included. Furthermore, Bluetooth technology allows for anonymous use and data comparison. The goal is to exclude all data except the fact that the respective user devices came into “contact.”
Bluetooth-based Contact Tracing
The entire project revolves around the use of Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) beacons. This allows two devices that come in proximity to each other to virtually “shake hands.” During this contact, the devices exchange a string of randomly generated numbers for identification purposes.
The contact needs to be long enough to indicate the possibility of contamination. If there is enough special proximity, and the time spent in contact, the interaction is marked.
If a person using this system gets sick from the coronavirus, he or she updates this information through the app. Then, this new information is cross-referenced with the people he/she came in contact with, and these contacts are given a heads up. They will know that they came in contact with somebody who caught the virus, helping them self-isolate on time or seek medical help.
This contact between devices and the database is stored, but it does not store any personal information. The only thing stored is a randomly generated number. The devices you use, the operating system it uses. Your name, credit card information, location, and contact info, are all safe and unnecessary for this system to work.
Also, the system does not inform the potentially infected people about who potentially infected them or where. They are just notified that they’ve been exposed to somebody who was diagnosed with COVID-19.
The Feedback-based Modifications
With their initial announcement, Google and Apple stressed that they are open to feedback during development and that one of the most important things for the project is transparency.
As BBC reported on April 24th - they processed feedback they got from app developers, data security watchdogs, and healthcare organizations to make the following changes:
They switched to AES encryption to reduce the toll on the battery;
Allow developers to decide at what proximity devices start to “shake hands;”
Giving developers information about individual devices’ Bluetooth power so they can properly identify the distance between devices;
Transmission power was encrypted to prevent devices being identified;
Stop devices from logging contacts as “lasting more than 30 minutes.”
Device Compatibility
The important thing to consider when we talk about Contact Tracing is support for older devices.
When it comes to Apple devices and iOS versions they use, they'll need to be able to update to iOS 13 to utilize the API. This means that devices that came out before iPhone 6S will not be able to do this. This device was released in September 2015.
As far as Google devices go - all devices running on Version 6 of Google's operating system would be able to use the API. There is no need for them to be updated. Version 6 was realized in October 2015 - so they achieved a consensus for compatibility.
Looking to the Future
Well, that’s all we know so far. The API is still some time away from being functional, but Drover will keep up with the latest news and make sure you’re updated. Until we get more news - stay safe and keep yourself healthy.
