I’m happy that both these amazing companies, that dominate the smartphone world, are finally collaborating for the great good of humanity but much bigger questions loom. Without a doubt, I’m happy that Apple is taking a lead in this project with their concerns for privacy as I hope that they will champion in protecting us more so than what we have seen from other corporations. You can find both Apple and Google’s Press Releases here with their images below on how the app will work. Privacy is the biggest issue here and really does seem like a big brother way of tracing but is there a better solution? If you want to read further into the technical documentation, click here!

Apple and Google will be launching a comprehensive solution that includes application programming interfaces (APIs) and operating system-level technology to assist in enabling contact tracing. Given the urgent need, the plan is to implement this solution in two steps while maintaining strong protections around user privacy

Techcrunch put it best in summary:

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.

San Diego County Mobility Shelter in Place .png

If you haven’t been able to stop by Google’s COVID-19 Community Mobility Papers, that’s something to definitely check out!