Germany takes a “decentralized” approach to tracking infections

Germany changed course on Sunday on what type of smartphone technology it wants to use to track coronavirus infections, advocating an approach backed by Apple and Google, as well as a growing number of other European countries.

Countries are seeking to develop applications to provide a detailed picture of the risk of contracting the coronavirus due to the difficulty of breaking the chain of infection, as it can be transmitted by those without symptoms.

Chancellor’s Director Helge Braun and Health Minister Jens Spahn said in a joint statement that Berlin will adopt a “decentralized” approach to tracking digital contacts, thus abandoning a domestic alternative that would give health officials the central control over monitoring data.

In Europe, most countries have chosen Bluetooth short-range handshakes between mobile devices as the best way to record a potential contact, even if you don’t provide location data.

But they disagree with recording these contacts on individual devices or on a central server, which would be more directly useful for existing contact tracking teams working with phones and knocking on doors to warn those who may be at risk. .

Under the decentralized approach, users can choose to share their phone number or details of their symptoms, making it easier for health officials to communicate and advise on the best course of action if they are considered at risk.

However, this consent would be provided in the application and would not form part of the core architecture of the system.

Germany on Friday supported a centralized standard called Pan-European Privacy Preservation Proximity Tracking (PEPP-PT), which Apple, in particular, would need to change the settings of its iPhones.

When Apple refused to budge, there was no alternative but to change course, a senior government source said.