[ad_1]
During his recent address to the nation, President Cyril Ramaphosa called on all South Africans to install the COVID-19 Alert SA application, that Launch of the Department of Health in early September.
Ramaphosa also announced that when South Africa begins to reopen its borders to international travelers on October 1, 2020, visitors will need to install the app when entering the country.
This has prompted many South Africans to express concern about the violation of their right to privacy through this “contact tracing application”.
However, it is important to understand that the COVID-19 Alert SA app is not a contact tracing app, but simply an exposure notification app.
It is based on an application programming interface (API) that Google and Apple developed in partnership specifically to create exposure notification applications that respect the privacy of users.
Apple-Google COVID-19 Exposure Notification Association
On April 11, 2020, Apple and Google announced that they had partnered to develop an application programming interface (API) for COVID-19 exposure notification.
This technology would not replace traditional contact tracing methods, the two companies said, but would augment it.
Part of the specification of the technology is that no personally identifiable information or location data is collected.
Rather than relying on GPS tracking or any other sharing of personal data, the exposure notification framework built into Android and iPhone devices uses low-energy Bluetooth signals to determine if two people were in close proximity to each other.
According to Google, their system was heavily inspired by the decentralized proximity tracking protocol to preserve privacy (DP-3T), which was developed by a team of European researchers.
DP-3T was one of many protocols developed by researchers to try to address privacy concerns around contact tracing. Others include the Protocol of Temporary Contact Numbers (BC) and private automated contact tracking (COVENANT) MIT system.
However, CNBC quoted Google Vice President of Android Dave Burke said DP-3T “offers the best aspects of the contact tracing service to preserve privacy.”
Bluetooth-based “contact tracing” needed Apple and Google to work
While several countries have independently developed contact tracing apps to aid in their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, each had their difficulties.
Mainly, if you wanted to make use of Bluetooth as suggested by privacy-first protocols like TCN, DP-3T, and PACT, your app should be running in the foreground all the time.
Register reported that Google and Apple imposed significant restrictions on how Bluetooth can be used in their mobile operating systems. There are solutions for this, but this comes with several tradeoffs, including a tremendous cost to your device’s battery life.
According to The edge, the reason why Android and iOS do not allow constant transmission of Bluetooth signals is because it has been exploited before for targeted advertising.
For a privacy-focused contact tracing protocol based on Bluetooth low energy to be successful, it required Apple and Google to get involved to make it work at the operating system level.
How does it work
The Apple-Google COVID-19 Exposure Notification Framework works by exchanging anonymous crypto tokens using Bluetooth low energy signals.
When two devices are within Bluetooth range, they send each other a randomly generated token. Google calls these IDs random, although they don’t contain any personally identifiable information, they are completely random.
Devices store the tokens they have sent as well as the tokens they have received for 14 days.
If someone tests positive for coronavirus and has been using an application that makes use of the Apple-Google API, they can upload all the tokens that they sent in the last 14 days to a notification server. It is up to governments to decide if they want to implement safeguards to try to ensure that people cannot load tokens without a confirmed positive coronavirus test result.
The claims server then sends these tokens for other app users to verify against the collection of tokens they have received in the last 14 days.
If you have received a crypto token from someone who tested positive, you will be advised to self-quarantine for a period of 14 days and seek medical attention if you experience symptoms.
Restrictive specifications
Several European governments and epidemiologists asked Apple and Google to relax the privacy requirements of their exposure notification system.
They explained that apps built with the Apple-Google API are essentially useless for researchers and don’t provide contact trackers with any useful data to help them do their job.
Since no personal information is collected, the framework also does not provide governments with the information they need to enforce their quarantine rules.
If the system notifies someone who has potentially been exposed to the coronavirus, it is entirely up to that person to remain isolated and undergo the necessary tests.
Traditional contact trackers can also end up duplicating work that the app has already done. They may end up investigating contacts that the app has already recommended to self-isolate as they will have no idea which contacts the app has reported.
Download without rating
You can download the COVID Alert SA application from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
According to the Department of Health, the application is less than 3 MB in size.
The app is free and does not include in-app purchases, and all South African mobile network providers have rated the small amount of data the app uses.
As the following screenshot shows, since installing the application on September 1, it has used 488 kilobytes, less than half a megabyte.
COVID Alert SA configuration
The following screenshots show what it looks like when you install the COVID Alert SA application.
Displays a welcome screen:
It asks you to enable exposure notifications:
And informs you that it is important to alert others if you have tested positive for COVID-19:
The app has two main screens, one that shows if you have been exposed to the coronavirus in the last 14 days, and another that allows you to load your secure Bluetooth tokens in case you test positive:
Now Read: The Problem With COVID-19 Immunity
[ad_2]
