Apple's Exposure Notification API Now Available in iOS 14 With Fourth Beta Update

[MacRumors]

As of today, the iOS 14 beta supports the Exposure Notification API, which will let iOS 14 users download Exposure Notification and COVID tracking apps in countries where those apps are available.

Exposure Notification support was added in the fourth beta released this morning, and it is listed as a feature in the update's release notes.

Exposure Notification was released as an iOS 13.5 update back in May, but the API was not added to iOS 14 until today, which prevented iOS 14 users from being able to download and use apps that take advantage of the Exposure Notification API.

That wasn't a major issue when only developers were able to download iOS 14, but it became a problem when the public beta was released and more people had iOS 14 installed as none of those people could use contact tracing apps.

Exposure Notification now works on both iOS 13 and iOS 14, with apps that use the API available in Canada, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Croatia, Denmark, and more.

For more on Exposure Notification and how it works, make sure to check out our Exposure Notification guide.

Article Link: Apple's Exposure Notification API Now Available in iOS 14 With Fourth Beta Update

 

[VSG]

It's about time. Now, bring on the Public Beta and I'm on it.

 

[SSDGUY]

Honest question: What do you do if you are notified that you may have been exposed? Quarantine yourself? Get tested each time? That seems impractical and unnecessary. I'm sure it generates a lot of interesting data, but for what?

 

[SevenSeas]

If only the US would update its position on ..... using it.

 

[VSG]

Honest question: What do you do if you are notified that you may have been exposed? Quarantine yourself? Get tested each time? That seems impractical and unnecessary. I'm sure it generates a lot of interesting data, but for what?

That's right, getting tested and quarantining yourself until you get the result.
The notification is actually more nuanced than many people think. I've seen instances when you get the info you had 1 possible contact, meaning you met a person that was later confirmed positive, but you haven't been around for more than 10 minutes. This is a mild risk. When there's a high risk, not getting tested and self quarantining could require getting your family and / or co-workers infected.
That's both unethical and a lot more unnecessary.

Worst case: The whole exposure notification doesn't help much.
Best case: You prevent yourself from infecting someone else.

We're one species, one planet. Let's work together on this, people!

 

[itsmilo]

Honest question: What do you do if you are notified that you may have been exposed? Quarantine yourself? Get tested each time? That seems impractical and unnecessary. I'm sure it generates a lot of interesting data, but for what?

Uncle of my bf: DEAD
Uncles brother: DEAD
2nd brother: DEAD
step grandpa of my bf: infected
bfs mum & dad: unknown, cuz they refuse to test them unless they show symptoms even though they were in the house helping the sick grandpa

so yeah, any attempt in helping so slow down the spread is good enough for me

 

[nutmac]

Honest question: What do you do if you are notified that you may have been exposed? Quarantine yourself? Get tested each time? That seems impractical and unnecessary. I'm sure it generates a lot of interesting data, but for what?

It would help me avoid or take more precaution going to locations I was notified from. Is that so bad?

 

[ZzapDK]

Honest question: What do you do if you are notified that you may have been exposed? Quarantine yourself? Get tested each time? That seems impractical and unnecessary. I'm sure it generates a lot of interesting data, but for what?

You should schedule a test and otherwise keep social distancing. It may be impractical and feel unnecessary but it is really implemented in order to protect people.
While you may think you may "beat this" there are a lot of elderly and people with poor health that will probably not make it. I, for one, am primarily following the guidelines in order to protect my own family but in doing so others will benefit too

 

[Buran]

Great. Now if we could actually make use of it in the home country of Apple and Google...

 

[ZzapDK]

Great. Now if we could actually make use of it in the home country of Apple and Google...

Yeah, is it a first, I wonder, that Apple releases a prominent feature and it works outside the US only?
(as in, I'm sure the API works, but there are no official apps yet)

 

[timborama]

Unfortunately the majority of at-risk people have old devices and cannot install these apps or OS version. Sadly Apple does not seem to be concerned.

 

[centauratlas]

I don't see why we should be trusting the government with this - or even why we should be looking to the government to do this. I'd trust Apple (and even Google) to release their app for anyone to use. I'd install it in a second. Instead we have to wait for the states (in the US) to create apps.

There are open source apps using this with the source on GitHub. Hey, Apple, Google, just open it up so that anyone can use the app without the need for some government involvement. If they had done this in May, everyone worldwide would have at least one app to use.

Apple needs to revise this:
"To ensure the credibility of health and safety information, Apple is only accepting COVID-19 related apps from recognised entities such as government organisations, health-focused NGOs, companies deeply credentialed in health issues, and medical or educational institutions. Only developers from one of these recognized entities should submit an app related to COVID-19 to the App Store." (https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=03142020a )

And if not, any one of the big universities - any of the UC schools (or USC, Stanford), Ivy League, NY schools, Florida schools, Mayo, JHU, etc could take the open source code, build an app in a day or two and submit it nationwide. They all have CE/CS departments and plenty of people who could partner with their medical/health departments.


e.g.
https://github.com/Covid-19Radar/Covid19Radar

GitHub - ukhsa-collaboration/COVID-19-app-iOS-BETA: Source code of the Beta of the NHS COVID-19 iOS app

Source code of the Beta of the NHS COVID-19 iOS app - ukhsa-collaboration/COVID-19-app-iOS-BETA

github.com

 

[CarlJ]

It would help me avoid or take more precaution going to locations I was notified from. Is that so bad?

It doesn’t report locations, only days. If you only went one place that day, you may be able to infer where you were exposed.

 

[nutmac]

I don't see why we should be trusting the government with this - or even why we should be looking to the government to do this. I'd trust Apple (and even Google) to release their app for anyone to use. I'd install it in a second. Instead we have to wait for the states (in the US) to create apps.

There are open source apps using this with the source on GitHub. Hey, Apple, Google, just open it up so that anyone can use the app without the need for some government involvement. If they had done this in May, everyone worldwide would have at least one app to use.

The nature of the app requires getting the test results from the health authority.

If Apple and Google offered an app that serves "honor system" data, where infected individuals enter the data manually, the app would be untrustworthy ("the boy who cried wolf").

Apple and Google actually made and offers sample app that essentially requires just the back-end integration, but the US government either disagrees with using tech for contact tracing or hasn't prioritized the project.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Many may like the idea of using an app like this but, its not for me.

 

[centauratlas]

The nature of the app requires getting the test results from the health authority.

...

Yeah, and JHU among others who are tracking it are getting the data from the health authorities, that's how the JHU dashboard is updated. If they are already getting some data, they might not even need more, or certainly not a ton more.

 

[CarlJ]

Honest question: What do you do if you are notified that you may have been exposed? Quarantine yourself? Get tested each time? That seems impractical and unnecessary. I'm sure it generates a lot of interesting data, but for what?

Based on the level of the notification, and the guidelines and laws in your region, either or both (quarantine / test) may be indicated. The expectation is that most people will never see a notification. People seem to think it’s going to be going off constantly.

And to be clear, the system has been carefully designed to not generate any data beyond the anonymous identifiers needed for the system to operate, specifically so that it can’t be used for tracking people. So it depends on what you mean by “interesting data” that you’re sure of. Have you read at least the FAQ for the specification? It’s a very easy and enlightening read.

 

[C DM]

Unfortunately the majority of at-risk people have old devices and cannot install these apps or OS version. Sadly Apple does not seem to be concerned.

That's really more of a generalization. That aside, there's often not too much that can be done as far as adding something on the level of brand new APIs and features to older OS versions. Also, iOS 13 is supported on devices going back quite a few models.

 

[coolfactor]

Great. Now if we could actually make use of it in the home country of Apple and Google...

Installed the official Canadian "COVID Alert" app last week. Super simple app, well designed. Tracking is not available in my area yet (Province of BC), but at least I'm ready.

Sadly, my dad says "I won't bother with it". Huh? That makes me sad.

And my brother thinks I'm "an idiot" for wanting to social distance. Okay, but keep your foolishness to yourself, thank you very much.

 

[coolfactor]

Unfortunately the majority of at-risk people have old devices and cannot install these apps or OS version. Sadly Apple does not seem to be concerned.

It's not just about software, but also hardware. The protocol utilizes Bluetooth to detect those around you. Bluetooth has evolved through several versions, and older devices will have older Bluetooth versions which may not support the type of signalling that's requiring. (I don't know). Then there's battery capacity, with many turning Bluetooth off to extend battery life, again rendering the detection of those around you null and void.

 

[coolfactor]

Many may like the idea of using an app like this but, its not for me.

That's a strange comment. Why would you dismiss something that you've never even tried?

I've installed the official Canadian app and it's dead-simple to use. Literally nothing fancy about it except to report if you've been exposed. It requires that you enter a "one-time code" given to you by health professionals. So there's literally nothing to do until after you've been exposed, and then it would be a good idea to be alerting those you may have been in contact with, no? That's what this app is about... to speed up the notification of those you may have passed the virus to, or got the virus from. I don't see why you'd have a problem with this.

 

[Apple_Robert]

That's a strange comment. Why would you dismiss something that you've never even tried?

I've installed the official Canadian app and it's dead-simple to use. Literally nothing fancy about it except to report if you've been exposed. It requires that you enter a "one-time code" given to you by health professionals. So there's literally nothing to do until after you've been exposed, and then it would be a good idea to be alerting those you may have been in contact with, no? That's what this app is about... to speed up the notification of those you may have passed the virus to, or got the virus from. I don't see why you'd have a problem with this.

I don’t like the idea of it for my personal use. It is a privacy concern for me.

 

[CarlJ]

I don’t like the idea of it for my personal use. It is a privacy concern for me.

Go read the spec, and explain where you think there’s any data that could be used to violate your privacy.

 

[ZzapDK]

I don’t like the idea of it for my personal use. It is a privacy concern for me.

The API has been designed with extreme privacy in mind; you can read the documentation.
Since you actively choose to register a positive test you can still get the benefits by running anonymously.
You would just not give anyone else any benefit since nobody would know about your positive test

 

[verpeiler]

Yeah, finally I can use my Corona Warn App again. I was shocked when I realized it wasn’t in the first betas.