Contact Tracing

A new data sharing protocol for Android/iPhone

Motivation

The goal of the joint effort is to automate the important field work that epidemiologists perform when they try to trace who may be a vector for the virus, and who may be in danger. To achieve that goal, the effort will enlist the voluntary data collection efforts of anyone with a smartphone.

Superficially this appears to be similar to other smartphone crowd-sourcing apps, but underneath the covers is a brand new approach, one that guarantees anonymity and complete user control over their data.

In a nutshell, it works like this. When two people with contact tracing smartphones come in close proximity to each other, they seamlessly exchange information about the encounter via Bluetooth technology. Later when someone is diagnosed with the virus, their heath care provider, with the consent of the patient, releases that information, and anyone who has come in contact with the patient in the past two week is alerted to the fact. Potentially exposed people may then take proactive steps to get tested and self-isolate.

License

The contact-tracing experimental repo is licensed under the MIT License.

Availability