By Ann-Marie Alcántara
The first Covid-19 exposure-notification apps using technology
developed by Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google are up in seven
states, and are attempting to inject life into an effort that has
struggled so far.
Contact-tracing is a powerful way to fight the coronavirus
without sweeping lockdowns, health experts say, and mobile apps
could help by automatically notifying anyone who has been near an
infected person. Earlier iterations, however, haven't always been
able to pinpoint users' locations, have raised concerns among
privacy advocates and generally failed to gain wide acceptance.
But apps using Apple and Google technology may raise the bar by
using Bluetooth to more accurately compile users' close encounters
with other phones, with no location-tracking at all.
Still, any of these new apps faces difficulties from the start,
said Jenny Wanger, head of the Implementor's Forum at the Linux
Foundation Public Health, a nonprofit that provides software and
assistance to agencies working on exposure notifications. Those
problems include convincing people that the apps are effective in
deterring coronavirus, and then getting the explicit permissions
the apps need to function.
"As time goes by, we found it's not just about designing a good
app," Ms. Wanger said. "It's about designing a go-to market
strategy that's going to be productive."
Apple and Google weren't involved in these apps' development,
but did set guidelines for use of their technology. The apps now
making use of it are trying to engage users through a mix of
strategically prominent disclosures, coupled with deliberately
limited features.
Privacy First
Mindful of privacy concerns, some apps open with a barrage of
detail on what information they collect and what they don't, in an
effort to reassure users.
For instance, Covidwise, introduced Aug. 5 in the commonwealth
of Virginia, presents users with three text-heavy screens on
privacy, notifications and the importance of sharing test results
before the user ever sees the app's home screen. (That is the
opposite of what usually happens: app developers generally try to
drive users straight into the main experience, with a minimum of
preamble.)
But Virginia gambled that emphasizing privacy would encourage
use, said Andrew Larimer, a developer at SpringML Inc., which
created the app with Virginia's Department of Health.
"One of the primary concerns is how much information can we
provide to help users understand the system as clearly as possible
so they can feel good about using it and understand it's protecting
their privacy," Mr. Larimer said.
Some other apps have adopted the same approach, such as
GuideSafe from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Covid
Trace from the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.
Bits of Personalization
In Arizona, authorities worked with the nonprofit group Covid
Watch to create a contact-tracing app designed for three different
pools of users: people at the University of Arizona and Northern
Arizona University, and people in Arizona in general. When the app
notifies users they have been in proximity to someone who tested
positive for coronavirus, it tailors recommendations according to
the apparent risk. For instance, it may recommend staying home for
a few days rather than a full 14-day quarantine if the exposure was
relatively far in the past.
It is partly an effort to be realistic, said Sameer Halai,
co-founder and head of product at Covid Watch, which released its
eponymous app on Aug. 19. A user who gets two exposure
notifications in a month might resist quarantining 14 days each
time, he said.
"This is just yet another way that we are able to get through to
someone we otherwise wouldn't be able to," Mr. Halai said.
In North Dakota and Wyoming, Care19 Alert was introduced Aug. 13
by ProudCrowd LLC. Like Covid Watch, it offers a level of
personalization: people can add a university or business
affiliation to get recommendations specific to their school or
employer. Those institutions can define the proximity and length of
contact that counts as an exposure for their populations,
ProudCrowd said.
Care19 Alert also includes a tab showing how many times it has
checked to see if the user was potentially exposed to Covid-19,
mimicking a common element of antivirus software that regularly
displays the results of its sweeps. The idea is that once users
know the app is constantly updating, they might begin to stay on
top of it. Care19 Alert checks for exposures about every six or
seven hours, ProudCrowd says.
Will the Apps Ever Talk to Each Other?
Even so, the apps take a piecemeal, regional approach to what is
a global pandemic. As they proliferate, their ability to
communicate with each another becomes more important, said Ms.
Wanger of Linux Foundation Public Health.
At present, most states' apps only trigger exposure
notifications for people using the same app. And there is no
overarching national contact-tracing app in the U.S.
Whether the new apps will be used broadly enough to meaningfully
slow the virus is unclear. But they are getting enough traction
locally -- Covidwise has been downloaded over 535,000 times in
Virginia, Covid Watch about 26,000 times in Arizona and Care19
Alert around 10,000 times in North Dakota, according to their
developers -- that interoperability is the next frontier.
In July, the Association of Public Health Laboratories, a trade
group, announced a joint effort between Google, Apple and Microsoft
Corp. to enable interoperability through a national server, though
only apps that use Google and Apple technology will be able to
participate.
But Google and Apple this month announced a workaround that
might expand the geographical reach of electronic contact-tracing:
Exposure Notifications Express, an update to their Bluetooth
technology that could make it simpler to get notifications.
Apple will let users opt in without an app and will eventually
send notifications, with phones, instead of only apps,
communicating a possible exposure. States, however, must supply
Google and Apple with information. Maryland, among others, plans to
use the system.
People with phones running Google's Android operating system
will be able to use state-branded apps -- this time generated by
the company -- with information from public health authorities.
These apps might eventually communicate with sibling apps in other
states.
Write to Ann-Marie Alcántara at ann-marie.alcantara@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 19, 2020 08:44 ET (12:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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