Several countries have considered patient monitoring over the phone. Now Google and Apple announce that they will integrate such a system directly into the systems they control. This means, in short, that they can follow patients from all over the world.
Apple controls phones and tablets with iOS, Google controls those with Android. And together they control what accounts for almost 98% of the smartphone market. The two companies have announced that they will work together to create a contact tracking technology for infected patients.
Their idea, already used by some countries to a better or worse extent, is to slow down the spread of coronavirus by allowing users of devices to opt for a system that catalogs other phones near them.
Other countries have been thinking about making an application and will or will not have citizens install it. What Google and Apple want to do is not far away, but if the option is integrated directly into the operating system is more efficient. At the same time, it would use Bluetooth technology for monitoring. Thus, both the spread of the virus can be identified and the information of those who may have come into contact with those infected may be made more efficient.
The technology will be available from mid-May. But both Apple and Google plan to include tracking technology directly in their operating systems in the coming months, so users won’t have to download an application to log in to phones nearby.
You still need to know that the technology will not track the location or identity of the users. However, it will collect data about when the users’ phones have been close to each other. The data is decrypted on a user’s phone and not on company servers. GPS tracking data is not part of the project, only Bluetooth tracking.
An example of how effective such a system can be is in Google’s travel data.