A smart phone app that warns users of coronavirus exposure has been released for general use in Alabama and experts said it could be a powerful tool to limit the spread of the virus.
The GuideSafe Exposure Notification App is free to download and available to all Alabama residents using iPhone and Android devices. It communicates confidentially with other app users to track contacts who have spent 15 minutes within 6 feet of each other, which is the length of exposure that health officials use in tracking contacts.
The app does not identify individuals as locations not to track. But it does allow users to receive notifications when they are exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 along with quarantine and testing information.
GuideSafe has been available to Alabama college students since August 3rd. Curtis Carver, chief information officer for the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said 1,800 users had downloaded the app. UAB health informatics professor Sue Feldman said one user had confirmed a positive test via the app.
“You can report a positive test to the app,” Feldman said. ‘It then warns others who have been in 6 feet for 15 minutes. By checking the box for the exhibit check, you can see how many exhibits you have had in the last 14 days.
GuideSafe does not replace contact tracking performed by the Alabama Department of Public Health, Feldman said. It may help to notify individuals who have been unknowingly in contact with a positive patient in the 14 days prior to testing.
“That’s the superpower of this app,” Carver said. “You do not need to know a person’s name or location. You do not have to know any of that. The phone does it for you. ‘
Those identities will not be shared with public health officials because the app does not store personal information, Feldman said. The app will only inform those who are exposed.
If enough people download the app, it could become a powerful tool to control the spread of COVID-19, Carver said. It can support the work of contacts, he said. Users will remain anonymous to each other and to the app, which works by generating a series of random codes to communicate.
“This app is designed to strictly protect personal privacy, while a user anonymously warns of possible exposure to someone who later tests positive on COVID-19,” Carver said. “Privacy of users and privacy of users permeate every aspect of the app.”
Carver said the app can be particularly useful in crowded environments, as it will identify those in close contact with an infected person, even those who are unknown to the patient.
“Do you want to go to a football match? Then you need to download this app, ”said Carver. “Do you want to go to a concert? Then you need to download this app. It takes nothing. Be a hero and download the app and add it to your arsenal of tools to protect others. “
The GuideSafe app was developed with funding from the CARES Act. UAB experts teamed up with Birmingham-based MotionMobs and the Alabama Department of Public Health to develop the technology. Alabama is one of the first states to offer this technology to the public, said Dr. Karen Landers, medical officer for the northern district of Alabama.
“We need to be stronger, and we need to be worse, and this app lets us be just that,” Landers said.
