How to Disable COVID-19 Exposure Notifications in iOS 13.5

[itsmilo]

Curious what the actual notification will include

„you may or may not have been in close contact with someone tested positive for the corona virus but we actually dont know exactly where and when. Please see a doctor who may or may not test you“

 

[andysw9]

Unfortunately for us UK users the NHS app won’t be using the Apple and Google API in their public app.

Until they change their mind after a month like they have on everything else...

 

[V_Man]

Wait, they're putting this into the OS itself rather than as an app you have to choose to download?

AND they're making it opt-in by default?

**** that nonsense.

I agree. I’ll probably be on 13.4 permanently if you can’t really turn this off.

 

[Rigby]

If you turn this stuff off will it still be tracking me and where I’m in contact with?

It should stop broadcasting your random IDs via BT (this can be verified using BT monitoring utilities) and collecting other IDs it sees. So far so good. However, be very careful what app you install if you want to use this. Any app that is allowed access to the data provided through Apple's API can easily upload it without asking first (and the upload is not hard to de-anonymize based on your IP address in many cases).

 

[nortonandreev]

I’m curious why at the briefings they always ask the exact same questions which get the exact same answer each time, instead of asking why they opted out from using the Apple’s API. Probably they wouldn’t answer that as well, but that’s still more interesting than stuff like PPE which everybody knows there’s a global shortage of.

 

[Sethal]

Wait. This is part of the OS? It’s not an app? That’s messed up. Regardless of if it’s a privacy issue or not, it should be a completely optional app download. Not part of the OS. Bad form.

 

[Rigby]

Wait. This is part of the OS? It’s not an app? That’s messed up. Regardless of if it’s a privacy issue or not, it should be a completely optional app download. Not part of the OS. Bad form.

The OS provides the BT beacon functionality and collects the random IDs broadcasted by other phones around you. However (if we believe Apple) an app will be required to do anything with the collected data.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

The tin foil is going to be strong in this thread.

Company/people/governments abuse/hack for personal info? Never.
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So for the people with privacy concerns - what information do you think this is providing that wouldn't already be potentially available to a government anyway?

So why do it?

 

[Itada]

Amazing that people freak out over a technology that doesn't use location data and is designed to maintain privacy, while simultaneously using carriers that have been literally selling their location data to advertising companies and who knows who else for all these years...

Also I just discovered you can block people on this forum, which is very convenient!

 

[GuruZac]

My only qualm with this is I don’t see contact tracing ever going away. They say it’s for COVID-19, then they’ll tell us it’s to assist with the next inevitable pandemic, but it will mostly be a way for big tech/governments to justify monitoring the movement of all of their citizens and inevitably abuse that privilege in nefarious ways, a la China‘s CCP.

 

[markfc]

Unfortunately for us UK users the NHS app won’t be using the Apple and Google API in their public app.

Its okay the UK GOV site runs like a dream! 😂

 

[cocky jeremy]

I thought this was opt in? Now we have to opt out? Not updating iOS. Screw the whole thing.

 

[Drew7777]

Nobody is pointing out the very real possibility that individuals are going to say they have a positive test result when they haven’t even been tested. Some will do this because they simply want to freak out other people or be a nuisance. Others will do so because of their political agenda, because they wish for the lockdown to be extended. The whole process is based on the honor system. This will not work as intended.

 

[Rigby]

Amazing that people freak out over a technology that doesn't use location data and is designed to maintain privacy, while simultaneously using carriers that have been literally selling their location data to advertising companies and who knows who else for all these years...

This is a false analogy. This feature does not record locations, but it records close contacts, which is a different kind of privacy threat. It is designed to ensure a certain level of privacy, but I wouldn't bet that it's impossible to de-anonymize the data (e.g. based on BT MAC addresses or the IP address when an exposure notification is triggered).

BTW, the location information logged by carriers is in most cases not accurate enough to be used for the same kind of contact tracing.

 

[abharms]

It's not necessarily this feature in particular that is concerning, but rather the gradual introductions of minimally controversial features. As time goes on, and companies become more invasive, we become ok with it. It's like the frog in boiling water. If you throw a frog in the water, he'll jump out immediately. But if you put the frog in a pot of cold water, but then bring it to a boil, he won't realize he's being cooked to death and will die. We are the frogs in cold water.

 

[JosephAW]

I've opted out by using iOS 12.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

I thought this was opt in? Now we have to opt out? Not updating iOS. Screw the whole thing.

IMO people are right to be skeptical of this whole thing. If this isn’t somehow abused by someone or some group in even a small way I would be surprised. This kind of thing is also a slippery slope. And you can’t police a virus that’s already worldwide. A growing number of physicians are beginning to question vaccine safety according to the WHO meeting on vaccine safety in Geneva December 2019, which anybody can watch on YouTube, so I don’t see even a method of forcing a vaccine on the world working. Protect the sick and frail and bring society back online. Stick your update where the sun don’t shine, Tim. The models were all wrong.

And no, I’m not a Trump voter. As someone once quipped in school: I support my legs cause they support me.

 

[Rigby]

Nobody is pointing out the very real possibility that individuals are going to say they have a positive test result when they haven’t even been tested. Some will do this because they simply want to freak out other people or be a nuisance. Others will do so because of their political agenda, because they wish for the lockdown to be extended. The whole process is based on the honor system. This will not work as intended.

It is up to apps that are using this API whether the user's IDs are marked as exposed in the cloud. Presumably the apps will prevent users from doing that without first being authorized by a doctor.

 

[mariusignorello]

Most notably, you have to have the setting on AND and app installed for it to work. So, two layers of protection as I see it.

 

[hourglass111]

My only qualm with this is I don’t see contact tracing ever going away. They say it’s for COVID-19, then they’ll tell us it’s to assist with the next inevitable pandemic, but it will mostly be a way for big tech/governments to justify monitoring the movement of all of their citizens and inevitably abuse that privilege in nefarious ways, a la China‘s CCP.

Precisely. This is an eerie setup to a Big Brother wet dream.

Why would I want to be alerted of this anyway? I’d rather get sick and deal with it, rather than have an alert and maybe a person I can point my finger at. Can I sue them and their insurance to cover my healthcare, similar to a car accident?

I’d also rather never know, than to get an alert and spend two weeks wondering if I’ll get sick.

The issue with this is not privacy. In proper Apple fashion, all of our data is anonymized and rather well “nurtured.” I still trust Apple with my data.

The issue is the attitude that our phone should be tracking ourselves and pinging others about our personal wellness or lack thereof, and that we should be getting the same pings of others welness r lack thereof.

It’s the attitude that is wrong, and which is a conveniently endorsed Big Brother wet dream. It’s not a conspiracy issue when the issue is right in front of you and not even a theory or speculation, but built into the next OS update.

This tracking would’ve been way more justifiable with something like HIV/AIDS … except it still wouldn’t have been justifiable. Yet here it is for COVID.

I’m gonna email Tim about this one.

EDIT: Email sent. tcook@apple.com for anyone else interested.

 

[iOS Geek]

It's not necessarily this feature in particular that is concerning, but rather the gradual introductions of minimally controversial features. As time goes on, and companies become more invasive, we become ok with it. It's like the frog in boiling water. If you throw a frog in the water, he'll jump out immediately. But if you put the frog in a pot of cold water, but then bring it to a boil, he won't realize he's being cooked to death and will die. We are the frogs in cold water.

Yep. We are actively creating those dark, dystopian futures we've all read about. There will be a point in the future where we will look back not things we didn't question now...and ask ourselves what the hell have we done?

Patriot Act is a good example. That...like this...was supposed to be a temporary thing that helps us. It was supposed to expire in 2005. It still exists today. Permanently. And EXPANDED. And in many cases...is used against you. History has given us many reasons to be skeptical of certain things. Anyone who thinks this API is going to be removed when this situation passes on...is kidding themselves. Fear is being taken advantage of. That won't play out well for us in the future. The US in particular, has a proven history of taking "optional" and "temporary"...and turning it into "REQUIRED" and "PERMANENT".

 

[bpeeps]

Why a front page post on how to disable this?

Because this is unprecedented news. Especially for a company that touts privacy over all else. Apple has decided to give up a fair amount of privacy for a bigger cause by making this opt-out.

 

[SBlue1]

Mother Nature is all the help we need...but that help no longer has a chance.

You forgot the God is the only help we need. LOL!

 

[mariusignorello]

It's not necessarily this feature in particular that is concerning, but rather the gradual introductions of minimally controversial features. As time goes on, and companies become more invasive, we become ok with it. It's like the frog in boiling water. If you throw a frog in the water, he'll jump out immediately. But if you put the frog in a pot of cold water, but then bring it to a boil, he won't realize he's being cooked to death and will die. We are the frogs in cold water.

Some people on here want to just throw us all in boiling water and say "too bad it's for everyone's good" if you don't like it.

 

[Cosmosent]

For obvious reasons, recommend everyone verify (today) that ALL their iOS devices are running 13.4.1.