Palintir already helping government track cases—Article notes that government can get location data from telecoms, but that google has even more precise data from maps and android, which the government can also ask for in an emergency
uses Bluetooth to track proximity between the user’s phones and notifies anyone who has been in vicinity of someone who tested positive (there is an interesting story here on how they had to first overcome the issue of varying Bluetooth strength based on phone models)
does not collect personal information (a consent is needed upfront)
does not capture GPS data
installed by 620,000 users (as of 23 March) which is roughly 11% of Singapore’s population in 3 days (if we assume constant growth, it should be around 30% today, March 28th)
Cons:
Depends on universal adoption (this will be true for any consent-based app)
I have anecdotal evidence that in the first 1-2 days after launch, the button on the consent page did not actually work, making it impossible to install. I believe this would have been solved now.
Battery drainage (will depend on the phone & user’s usage of Bluetooth)
Some reviews in the App Store indicate that it might disrupt the working of other connected devices (e.g. Bluetooth headphones) which might discourage usage
a big problem might be that it does not work in the background, but I believe this is already being solved following public requests.
COVID-19 Contact tracing efforts
US Efforts:
Covid Watch
https://www.covid-watch.org/
Private Kit, Safe Paths
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615372/coronavirus-infection-tests-app-pandemic-location-privacy/
http://safepaths.mit.edu/
South Korea’s Tracking Effort
Their app
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615329/coronavirus-south-korea-smartphone-app-quarantine/
SMS messages about cases locations, etc.
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00740-y
Other Articles
Wired’s reporting on S Korea and China’s use of apps
https://www.wired.com/story/phones-track-spread-covid19-good-idea/]
Open letter asking tech companies to implement opt-in contact tracing:
https://stop-covid.tech/
Israeli intelligence efforts to track people and use that data for epidemiological purposes
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/16/world/middleeast/israel-coronavirus-cellphone-tracking.html
Here’s some contact tracing discussion on reddit, you might want to post there/contact individuals there:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Coronavirus/comments/fksnbf/im_bill_gates_cochair_of_the_bill_melinda_gates/fkuoxbi/
Government and tech companies / tracking
https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-track-virus-governments-weigh-surveillance-tools-that-push-privacy-limits-11584479841
Palintir already helping government track cases—Article notes that government can get location data from telecoms, but that google has even more precise data from maps and android, which the government can also ask for in an emergency
Singaporean government released their own Trace Together app last week and they’re now working to open-source it.
Pros:
uses Bluetooth to track proximity between the user’s phones and notifies anyone who has been in vicinity of someone who tested positive (there is an interesting story here on how they had to first overcome the issue of varying Bluetooth strength based on phone models)
does not collect personal information (a consent is needed upfront)
does not capture GPS data
installed by 620,000 users (as of 23 March) which is roughly 11% of Singapore’s population in 3 days (if we assume constant growth, it should be around 30% today, March 28th)
Cons:
Depends on universal adoption (this will be true for any consent-based app)
I have anecdotal evidence that in the first 1-2 days after launch, the button on the consent page did not actually work, making it impossible to install. I believe this would have been solved now.
Battery drainage (will depend on the phone & user’s usage of Bluetooth)
Some reviews in the App Store indicate that it might disrupt the working of other connected devices (e.g. Bluetooth headphones) which might discourage usage
a big problem might be that it does not work in the background, but I believe this is already being solved following public requests.