Apple and Google have announced that they will work together on a Bluetooth that will work perfectly between Android and iOS devices. The two companies have the two most popular mobile operating systems in the world and their move to an interoperable Bluetooth is likely to provoke mixed reactions.
The news came after a joint statement Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), and Google for allowing proximity monitoring between Android and iOS device owners.
"Beginning in May, both companies will release APIs that will enable Bluetooth interoperability between Android and iOS devices, developing applications for public health principles. These official apps will be available for users to download through their respective app stores,” the statement said.
Apple and Google plan to create a Bluetooth monitoring platform that will allow users to participate and share their tracking history with the various government health authorities that monitor its spread coronavirus.
Both companies had to answer questions from U.S. Senators in recent days. concerning location data for COVID-19 and data collection practices. Proximity tracking apps could go a long way in automating contact detection, which could be vital to getting back to normal life and business in the coming weeks.
"Through a close cowork των προγραμματιστών, των κυβερνήσεων και των υπηρεσιών δημόσιας υγείας, ελπίζουμε να αξιοποιήσουμε τη δύναμη της τεχνολογίας για να βοηθήσουμε τις χώρες του κόσμου να επιβραδύνουν την εξάπλωση του COVID 19 και να επιταχύνουν την επιστροφή της καθημερινής ζωής”, αναφέρει η κοινή δήλωση.
In terms of security, a draft documentation of the Bluetooth technology and cryptology to be used has been published. The draft states that the contact detection method will use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and a 32-byte tracking key, cryptographically protected code, to record contact between devices.
Privacy advocates favor decentralized Bluetooth tracking methods from smartphones call this method one of the most advanced contact tracing methods available today.
ACLU and cybersecurity lawyer Jennifer Granick said the effectiveness of contact detection applications should depend on trust and voluntary use, and that there should be no central repository of user data.
“Apple and Google have announced an approach that appears to mitigate the worst privacy and data collection risks, but there appears to be room for improvement. We will continue to monitor to ensure that the application detection will remain voluntary and decentralized and will only be used for public health purposes and only during this pandemic,” Granick told VentureBeat.
