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Apple and Google on Friday revised the proposal for their recently announced contact tracing solution and have pledged to disable the service once the coronavirus outbreak has been sufficiently contained.
Apple Inc and Google on April 11 unveiled the partnership that enabled them to add technology to their smartphone platforms that will alert users if they have come into contact with a person diagnosed with Covid-19.
The platform will have the potential to monitor one-third of the world’s population. However, users will have to opt-in for the service. The contact-tracing technology is designed to curb the spread of Covid-19 by alerting users of the potential risk of infection.
Two weeks after the project was unveiled, the tech giants have released new guidelines based on feedback received about the specifications and how they might be improved. The Verg e reported.
Privacy concerns
There had been a few privacy concerns raised post the initial announcement of the solution. Certain data privacy issues have now been addressed under the revised proposal.
Representatives of the companies have also pledged to remove the tracker once the outbreak has been contained in a call following the announcement, the report said.
The decision will have to be made based on a region-to-region situation. The engineers stated that the APIs for the technology will not be maintained indefinitely.
The new proposal is divided into four parts with detailed guidelines regarding access to Bluetooth, Cryptography Specification and Framework API.
As per the new specification, the solution will have a new encryption system in which daily tracing keys will be randomly generated rather than mathematically derived from a user’s private key.
The company has also changed the language renaming the solution from contact tracing system to ‘exposure notification.’
The companies have also rehashed much of the information regarding the solution that is available on the public domain as a “Frequently Asked Questions” page.
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