--- title: "Apple and Google to Launch App for Tracking the Coronavirus" description: "Apple and Google are partnering on a coronavirus tracking app that can tell you if you've recently been exposed to somebody who has tested positive." date: "2020-04-10" modified: "2020-04-10" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/apple-google-launch-app-tracking-coronavirus" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Google" - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Pathogens" - "Prosthetics and Devices" - "Viruses" tags: - "apple" - "coronavirus" - "covid-19" - "Google" - "virus" --- # Apple and Google to Launch App for Tracking the Coronavirus ![Apple and Google are partnering on a coronavirus tracking app that can tell you if you've recently been exposed to somebody who has tested positive.]() *\Image: Apple/Google/Victor Tangermann\* Longtime rivals Apple and Google are [officially partnering]() to develop a coronavirus-tracking app designed to tell you if you've recently been exposed to somebody who has tested positive for COVID-19. The idea is to leverage the vast market reach of the two megacorporations to track the spread of the coronavirus. The app centers on the idea of "contact tracing" — keeping tabs, essentially, on who has the virus and who they could have spread it to already. ![]() Bluetooth technology allows devices to measure proximity to other devices. Since the coronavirus can be transmitted by being close to those who have it, apps using this technology could indicate if a person has been in close contact with somebody who previously self-registered as testing positive for COVID-19.![]() According to a [press release](), both companies are planning to release APIs in May that will allow the app to work across both Apple's iOS and Google's Android mobile platforms and devices. Apps from public health authorities will use the software to start collecting data — and potentially prompt users if they are at risk. A full-fledged "Bluetooth-based contact tracing platform" will eventually be released "in the coming months," according to [a statement](). To keep those who are using the app anonymous, Google and Apple claim the information sent out will be designed to protect privacy. "List of people you’ve been in contact with never leaves your phone," according to [official documentation](). The app will also require "explicit user consent." **READ MORE:** [Apple and Google are building a coronavirus tracking system into iOS and Android]() \[*The Verge*\] **More on tracking the virus:** *[Top Doctor: Getting COVID-19 Once Probably Means You’re Immune]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()