Coronavirus APP Toubles Show Rocky Path

Coronavirus app problems appear rocky track without technology from Apple and Google

A government official told Reuters that Colombia has removed the contact tracking feature in its official app to inform residents of the new coronavirus after it crashes, but aims to rebuild using reliable technology from Google and Alphabet's Google.

Actions not previously reported by the Colombian government are adding to an increasing number of Apple-Google country accounts and dropping alternatives aimed at helping them reduce the disease outbreak faster.

Contact tracking includes identifying, testing, and isolating people who are vulnerable to the virus before transmitting it to others, something that governments have said globally is vital to keeping their economies open safely until vaccine becomes available.

Experts say apps that tap on Bluetooth sensors in smartphones to discover encounters with those who have proven positive results can speed up the process.

But some governments that had planned to press ahead with such applications without the help of American tech giants, had to turn around.

The Australian Communications Tracking app chief told Senators on Tuesday that his team was moving to Apple-Google about a bug internal solution, and the government agency behind the upcoming UK app revealed in a contract signed on Tuesday that it was asking engineers to test the Apple-Google system amid concerns about Privacy about a pre-planned alternative.

Decisions have widespread implications for using smartphone apps to record interpersonal meetings to facilitate finding and alerting those who crossed paths with a virus carrier.

Apple and Google have said that their Bluetooth technology will work more easily than the alternatives and that consumers will trust it because the companies prohibit the collection by the government of the GPS location for the users of the application and other personal data.

Apple and Google prohibit the use of location tracking in contact tracking apps

Many governments, including France, the United Kingdom, and some US states, claim that Apple and Google's privacy protections prevent robust analysis of the data needed to slow the spread of the virus.

But Colombia's struggle to use alternative technology highlights the challenges ahead of governments that are reluctant to accept the terms of Apple and Google.

"Certainly, several lessons have been learned in this process," Colombian Presidential Adviser Victor Munoz told Reuters.

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Roadblocks on iPhones

The Colombian government is feeling good on its way with its CoronApp app, which was downloaded by 4.3 million people on May 2 and also includes functionality to report symptoms and find out where the cases are on the map.

But CoronApp dropped the contact tracking feature last month just days after its launch.

Apple and Google, the leaders in smartphone operating systems, allow government contact tracking apps to bypass their technologies. But without it, iPhones do not send a readable Bluetooth signal when locked, a feature designed to prevent tracking and save battery power.

Contact tracking apps are useless unless at least half of the population has downloaded them, and iPhone usage is too large in most countries to be ignored.

So, CoronApp used an alternative technology from the Portuguese company HypeLabs, which sells networking technology for gaming applications and other companies, which aims to overcome Bluetooth restrictions on the iPhone.

But Munoz said that Colombia faced multiple challenges with the HypeLabs-based contact tracking feature, including the inaccuracy of recording contacts using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

Munoz added that Colombia needed a better way "to reduce the risk of generating unnecessary alerts" and decided to align CoronApp with Apple-Google technology instead.

He said that his team met with representatives of Apple and Google and was studying their technology.

"It is very important for us to evaluate any alternative that can help the government make better decisions," Munoz said.

HypeLabs said that it is still in discussions with many other countries.

Randall Bargood, CEO of the Australian Digital Transformation Agency, said on Tuesday that the country's COVIDSafe app was having more and more trouble recording meetings the more the iPhone was locked.

"The big shift in Bluetooth performance will be the point where we can benefit from the new Apple-Google Bluetooth management software," he told Senators.

Apple and Google started last month working on a common solution to the problem of device communication. But their offer, which will not be available for use until mid-May, prevents governments from compiling databases of people's movements.

Colombia is one of many governments that had been hoping to collect this site data for use in detecting coronavirus hotspots as companies may need to close or clean them deeply.

Apple and Google could fall short

Other developers are stepping forward to build contact-tracking apps without Apple-Google. Silicon Valley giants only state their tools for government communication tracking applications. But many developers have told Reuters they are sending requests from large companies that want applications for their workplaces.

Jamison Day, founder of Safe2, an app that uses HypeLabs technology to enable exposure notification, said: "We've spoken to a professional sports team, food supply chain companies, a car sales agency, and a non-profit."

Experts said that only using bluetooth can fail. Arashi Prasad, professor of computer science at Skidmore College, said that the coronavirus can spread through shared objects such as tables, and two people sitting in the same place will not be captured by an hour by Apple-Google Bluetooth.

Privacy activists have praised the protections provided by Apple and Google, noting there are legitimate concerns about how data is misused from contact tracking apps by governments.

Whether consumers trust trusted officials or Apple and Google to improve the protection of data collected through contact tracking remains a key question, with varying answers globally.

Carlos Lee, co-founder of HypeLabs, said he continues to send inquiries from government officials, who have declined to be named, and who have reservations about the embrace of Apple and Google.

"When the whole world is looking at a problem, it's always better than just one or two private companies looking at it," Lee told Reuters.

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