Apple and Google are launching a joint COVID-19 tracing tool for iOS and Android | TechCrunch

This seems like a super important tool to get society opening back up, and it is great to see Apple and Google working cooperatively to make it happen. Getting this capability in iOS and Android phones would cover a huge percentage fo the population. I’m impressed with the security and privacy protection as well.

There is zero use of location data, which includes users who report positive. This tool is not about where affected people are but instead whether they have been around other people.

The system works by assigning a random, rotating identifier to a person’s phone and transmitting it via Bluetooth to nearby devices. That identifier, which rotates every 15 minutes and contains no personally identifiable information, will pass through a simple relay server that can be run by health organizations worldwide.

You can also read Apple's announcement as well as Google's announcement. The technical details of the privacy protection is also published, Privacy-Preserving Contact Tracing.

It is notable that Covid-19 spread through the world at breathtaking speed because of the technology that we have to allow people to go from any spot in the world to anywhere else quickly. This kind of technology could bee used to put some protection against the inherit risk in all that leverage.