No, Google and Apple have not installed a COVID-19 tracing app on your phone

[Jamie McKane]

No, Google and Apple have not installed a COVID-19 tracing app on your phone

Messages are circulating on WhatsApp groups and social media in South Africa that Google has secretly downloaded a COVID-19 contact tracing app to Android smartphones.

The concerns stem from the sudden appearance of a new settings screen on Android devices called "COVID-19 exposure notifications".

 

[dualmeister]

No, Google and Apple have not installed a COVID-19 tracing app on your phone ...

Yet there it is

 

[R13...]

I wonder why SA still doesn't have an app or asked to adapt one of the ones used elsewhere.

 

[Sinbad]

No, Google and Apple have not installed a COVID-19 tracing app on your phone ...

Yet there it is

It's not an app. It's an api

 

[konfab]

So they haven't installed a contact tracing app on your phone, they have only installed software that does contract tracing on your phone..

he Apple-Google COVID-19 exposure notification framework works through the exchange of anonymous cryptographic tokens using Bluetooth low-energy signals.

When two devices are within Bluetooth range, they send each other a randomly generated token. Google calls these random IDs, though they don’t contain any personally identifying information — they are completely random.

Devices store the tokens they have sent, as well as the tokens they have received for 14 days.

If someone tests positive for the coronavirus and they have been using an app that makes use of the Apple-Google API, they can upload all of the tokens they have sent in the past 14 days to a notification server. Governments must put safeguards in place to try and ensure that people can’t upload tokens without a confirmed positive coronavirus test result.

The notification server then sends out the tokens for other app users to check against the list of tokens they have received in the past 14 days.

If you have received a cryptographic token from someone who has tested positive, you will be advised to self-quarantine for a period of 14 days and seek medical advice if you experience symptoms.

"You see we haven't installed an app that reads all your messages, we have just put software on your phone that reads all your messages into one handy place for app developers"

 

[konfab]

If someone tests positive for the coronavirus and they have been using an app that makes use of the Apple-Google API, they can upload all of the tokens they have sent in the past 14 days to a notification server. Governments must put safeguards in place to try and ensure that people can’t upload tokens without a confirmed positive coronavirus test result.

 

[now05ster]

I wonder why SA still doesn't have an app or asked to adapt one of the ones used elsewhere.

Was wondering the same.

 

[dualmeister]

It's not an app. It's an api

So yes then

 

[konfab]

It's not an app. It's an api

It's not a bug, it's a feature.

 

[markings]

I wonder why SA still doesn't have an app or asked to adapt one of the ones used elsewhere.

Because doing something timely and efficiently is not the African way.

 

[Afon Kulikov]

 

[TEXTILE GUY]

Virus-Tracing Apps Are Rife With Problems. Governments Are Rushing to Fix Them.
As countries race to deploy coronavirus-tracking software, researchers are reporting privacy and security risks that could affect millions of people and undermine trust in public health efforts.

Virus-Tracing Apps Are Rife With Problems. Governments Are Rushing to Fix Them.

As countries race to deploy coronavirus-tracking software, researchers are reporting privacy and security risks that could affect millions of people and undermine trust in public health efforts.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Jan]

So they haven't installed a contact tracing app on your phone, they have only installed software that does contract tracing on your phone..

"You see we haven't installed an app that reads all your messages, we have just put software on your phone that reads all your messages into one handy place for app developers"

This is like saying that Apple installed software on iPhones to collect data from people's clipboards.

They provided the API hook. The software that exploited that API hook was LinkedIn, Reddit, TikTok, NPR, and Fruit Ninja (among many others) (sauce).

It's not a perfect analogy, because in the case of their COVID-19 exposure notifications framework Apple and Google control who is allowed to use the API much more strictly than their other APIs.

Also, for all their faults, in this case Apple and Google have actually worked to preserve people's privacy despite pressure from governments.

EDIT: Just thought of something else. It's not even a contact tracing framework. "Contact tracing" is a term with a very specific meaning in the context of a pandemic and this framework doesn't really support proper contact tracing. Hence the change of terminology to "exposure notification".

 

[Jan]

I wonder why SA still doesn't have an app or asked to adapt one of the ones used elsewhere.

Was wondering the same.

I suspect the feeling is that it's not worth the money to develop an app. Smartphone penetration isn't high enough, and adoption might be hobbled because people are worried the app is going to eat their data in the background.

 

[eg2505]

sure I will see the app when I get my weekly Lineage OS update.

or will I with lineage that removes a lot of bloatware.

 

[susefan]

Coronavirus: New Covid-19 tracing tool appears on smartphones

The new "exposure notification" tool is part of an update to iPhone and Android operating systems.

www.bbc.com

A Covid-19 tracing software tool has appeared in the settings of both Android phones and iPhones as part of an update of their operating systems.

The "exposure notification" tool is switched off by default, and is not a tracing app itself.

It enables an app to run in the background while still using Bluetooth.

 

[rph72]

I suspect the feeling is that it's not worth the money to develop an app. Smartphone penetration isn't high enough, and adoption might be hobbled because people are worried the app is going to eat their data in the background.

Seems to be on the FNB App.

Ps: Seems to be for employees only.

When I go into my phone settings I cannot activate the api.

 

[eg2505]

dont see it on my FNB app notification

I updated yesterday, from play store

maybe lineage blocks it already without my knowledge?

or maybe when I do an update ill see it then?

 

[rph72]

dont see it on my FNB app notification

I updated yesterday, from play store

maybe lineage blocks it already without my knowledge?

or maybe when I do an update ill see it then?

See my edit. Only for FNB employees or seems.