Apple and Google Partner to Build Cross-Platform COVID-19 Contact Tracing System
Apple and Google team up to create interoperable APIs that allow iOS and Android devices to track COVID-19 exposure through Bluetooth technology. The unprecedented partnership aims to help public health authorities automate contact tracing while prioritizing user privacy.
Apple and Google form an unprecedented partnership to introduce interoperable COVID-19 contact-tracing technologies across iOS and Android devices. The tech giants plan to launch official APIs in May that allow public health authorities to build apps for the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, effectively breaking down the data silos that typically separate the two smartphone platforms.
This collaboration directly addresses the limitations of traditional contact tracing, which relies on labor-intensive interviews that public health groups struggle to maintain during a global pandemic. By leveraging Bluetooth technology rather than GPS location data, the system offers a more privacy-friendly approach that helps authorities proactively trace and notify individuals who experience potential exposure to the virus.
In the longer term, the companies commit to building this Bluetooth-based contact-tracing functionality directly into their underlying operating systems to encourage even broader participation. They emphasize that the system operates strictly on an opt-in basis and promise to prioritize privacy, transparency, and consent by openly publishing their Bluetooth specifications, cryptography specifications, and framework API drafts for public analysis.