Source: Radio One / Radio One Digital
If you ever wanted an alert to go off on your phone telling you if you were in contact with someone infected with the Coronavirus well it looks like that can happen! So new reports say Apple Inc. and Google have joined forces to build software to alert people on their phones if they were in contact with someone infected with the virus. The coolest part about this is the alerts come right to your phone, so your smartphone can now be a pandemic tracking device. The first versions of the app for the alert apps will reportedly be released in May.
Forbes reports,
The project “offers the most concrete technological solution to date for governmental authorities searching for ways to at least partially lift the lockdown orders that have swept the nation,” the Journal said.
The “contact tracing tools” the two companies are developing would be built into smartphones, using existing Bluetooth technology.
Users who have tested positive for coronavirus would voluntarily agree to participate in the system.
“Other phones will be able to search through their location data to determine whether they passed close enough for long enough to risk a potential exposure within the past 14 days,” the Journal reported.
According to draft documents posted by the companies, noninfected users of the system would receive notifications on their phones such as, “ALERT: You have recently been exposed to someone who has tested positive for Covid-19. Tap for more information,” the story said.
