Broadcasting any personally identifiable information via Bluetooth LE is a bad idea, because messages can be read by anyone in range. But that would be a clear violation of privacy. Then, they could build an app that receives the IDs so every phone would be able to keep a record of close encounters with other phones. To build an exposure notification app using Bluetooth LE, developers could assign everyone a permanent ID and make every phone broadcast it on an advertising channel.
For example, some devices regularly announce their presence to facilitate automatic connection. Devices can also broadcast useful information to nearby devices over the advertising channel. Two devices can communicate over the data channel with each other, such as a smart watch synchronizing with a phone.
Christoph Dernbach/picture alliance via Getty Imagesīluetooth LE communicates in two main ways. Phones that have been near each other for long enough can approximate potential viral transmission. So how will the Apple-Google exposure notification system work? As researchers who study security and privacy of wireless communication, we have examined the companies’ plan and have assessed its effectiveness and privacy implications.īluetooth allows phones that are near each other to communicate. Several other exposure notification projects, including PACT, BlueTrace and the Covid Watch project, take a similar privacy-protecting approach to Apple’s and Google’s initiative. Many of them also report the identities of the exposed people to public health authorities, which has raised privacy concerns. There are dozens of apps being developed around the world that alert people if they’ve been exposed to a person who has tested positive for COVID-19. The system uses the ubiquitous Bluetooth short-range wireless communication technology. On April 10, Apple and Google announced a coronavirus exposure notification system that will be built into their smartphone operating systems, iOS and Android. An updated version of this article was published on Feb.