Apple and Google roll out their new exposure notification tool. Interest seems limited.
A new software update will allow iPhones and Android devices to use exposure tracing features built into apps from public health authorities. | Adam Clark Estes / Recode
What will happen now that two massive tech companies have let their powers combine to fight the coronavirus?
The Apple-Google exposure notification tool, announced on April 10 , is one step closer to being launched. The two companies released software that will help public health authorities build apps that incorporate their exposure notification tool. Apple, specifically, rolled out a software update to iOS devices that some users could download immediately. This big public unveiling raises a couple very important questions: Will any government agencies actually build those apps? And will anybody use them?
These questions remain unanswered. They also raise another, more essential question: How will the new Apple-Google tool help the world fight the pandemic ? The companies sold the concept early on as part of a tech-based solution to a very hard problem. But now, Apple and Google admit the tool is not meant to be a silver bullet.
Yet, there is progress. Following the late April release of a beta version of the technology, Apple and Google announced on Wednesday that the application programming interface (API) for its exposure notification tool is now being released to public health authorities. According to the companies, several countries and three US states — Alabama, North Dakota, and South Carolina — will base their digital contact tracing apps on the tool. While Apple and Google consulted with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to build the tool, there is no indication that any nationwide app is forthcoming.
“Starting today, our Exposure Notifications technology is available to public health agencies on both iOS and Android,” Apple and Google said. “Today, this technology is in the hands of public health agencies across the world who will take the lead and we will continue to support their efforts.”
One of the early adopters of the Apple-Google tool is North Dakota, a state that has already struggled with contact tracing technology of its own .
“North Dakota is excited to be among the first states in the nation to utilize the exposure notification technology built by Apple and Google to help keep our citizens safe,” Gov. Doug Burgum said in a statement. “As we respond to this unprecedented public health emergency, we invite other states to join us in leveraging smartphone technologies to strengthen existing contact tracing efforts, which are critical to getting communities and economies back up and running.”
What remains to be seen is how many states will accept North Dakota’s invitation. Several states have told Recode that they don’t plan to incorporate the Apple-Google tool into their apps or contact tracing plans.
That’s surprising, given the initial...
