Google and Apple team up to build COVID-19 tracing system in Android and iOS

Almost all major tech titans are doing their bit to contribute towards COVID-19 relief efforts. Now, Google and Apple have joined hands to leverage Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for building a contact tracing system, a method that has been deemed helpful for containing COVID-19’s spread.

Both Google and Apple will release APIs in May that allow interoperability between Android and iOS devices through health apps. The tracing system will then be built into Android and iOS, allowing the exchange of anonymous identifier keys between phones when two or more people are in proximity.

Here’s how the proposed COVID-19 tracing system works:

The official docs say that the tracing system will work by “alerting participants of possible exposure to someone who they have recently been in contact with, and who has subsequently been positively diagnosed as having the virus.”

Source: Google Blog