A health crisis like the one we are experiencing is the perfect time for all of us to join forces against the common aggressor that is putting the world in check: the coronavirus. Apple and Google are clear about it and have announced a common project to fight this infection through our mobile devices.
In the fight against the coronavirus, one of the tools that, according to all the experts, is essential is the contact trace. Locate nuclei of infection and warn people of possible contacts with infected people so that they take extreme isolation measures and not contribute to new infections are essential points in the control of the disease, and that is where Google and Apple come into play with this collaboration.
What device do we always carry with us? Our smartphone, and Between Apple and Google, we can say that almost all of the smartphones in the world meet. The technology that our smartphones incorporate becomes an invaluable tool that could contribute to the control of this infection, and of future ones.
We are going to explain it so that we all understand it: our phone (Android or iOS) will use its Bluetooth connectivity to interact with other phones that are close to us, and through it an "identifier" will be passed to the other phone that will be stored. At the end of the day our phone will have accumulated as many identifiers as we have had nearby phones, and our own identifier will be on the phones we have approached.
Those identifiers will be used so that in the event that someone becomes infected with coronavirus, all contacts they have had are immediately notified, so that those people will know that they have been with someone who may have infected themOf course the identity of that person will be secret, but knowing that they have had contact with someone infected, they will be able to take extreme isolation measures and thus not contribute to generating new infections.
This will be done in two phases and the first will be through an API that will allow interoperability between iOS and Android devices and that the applications of public health organizations will be able to use. These applications will have to be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play Store. The second phase, which will require more time to complete, will consist of integrating this functionality into the system., which will allow that you do not even have to download an application for it.
Privacy will be guaranteed according to both companies, and only public health agencies and governments of each country will be able to access this functionality. With the union of both companies, one of the first steps towards controlling this epidemic could be achieved, which has already claimed thousands of lives around the world.
The use of bluetooth to identify contacts with those affected has many problems, since it will give false contacts with people on the other side of a wall or on other floors of the same building. In open spaces it can detect devices up to 10 meters, and in that distance it should not be considered as contact. It wouldn't be really reliable, I think. Let's see what they can think of to solve it. Integrating it into the system raises enormous privacy concerns, etc. At least, that they have the technology ready, it will be seen how to deploy it and at what level.