Google and Apple teamed together to start a COVID-19 tracing service called Exposure Notifications. The service is now available for both Android and iOS users in India.
Users will have to download a public health service according to the country. However, Aarogya Setu is not yet compatible with Google’s exposure notifications.
Google is stringent that the API will only work with public health authority apps.
You have to turn on the Bluetooth and the phone’s location. According to Google, “the system uses location to scan Bluetooth signals and it does not collect or track your location.”
When exposure notifications on your phone are turned on, it will send random IDs to nearby phones who have the setting turned on too. If anyone from the transferred IDs tests positive for COVID-19, the user will be notified accordingly. Importantly, these random IDs change every 10-20 minutes to maintain user privacy and are stored for 14 days.
If someone on the Aarogya Setu app reports they tested positive for the virus, the system will share “the day that contact happened”, “how long the contact lasted” and “the Bluetooth signal strength of that contact”. Accordingly, the contacts will be notified.
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