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1 – What’s new?
Apple and Google are integrating Corona warning technology more deeply into their iOS and Android mobile operating systems and are launching a “quick feature” that should allow you to display warnings even without an app installed.
For Android smartphone owners, the innovations come with an update to Google Play services. For iPhone users, the iOS 13.7 operating system update was released on Tuesday night.
Apple and Google refer to the corona warning feature as “Express Show Notifications”. The new feature allows smartphone users to receive warnings when they have been around people infected with corona. However, this is only possible with the consent of the user. AND the national health authority must give the green lightthat warnings can be displayed without an app.
The iOS and Android solutions are fully interoperable with each other and with existing Corona warning applications. National health authorities can also choose to start and run their own custom applications without the express function.
Google and Apple want to continue to fully support warning applications. The new express function will be launched in coordination with the health authorities.
2 – What will change for SwissCovid users?
Nothing at the moment.
3 – No need for warning apps anymore?
Yes, you still need it. At least for the moment. More on that in a moment.
The state infrastructure, which allows infected smartphone users to warn others anonymously and securely by entering a key (Covidcode) in the application, is certainly indispensable. In Switzerland, it is the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the publisher of the SwissCovid app, that operates a corresponding system. Cantons are responsible for distributing Covid codes.
4 – I have not installed SwissCovid, now what?
No one is required to use corona warning technology. Future use of the express function is also voluntary and requires the explicit consent of the user. This is done through the device settings.
IPhone owners updating to the new version of iOS 13.7 will find the new menu item “Meeting Messages” in the “Settings”. This also applies to devices that do not have a Corona warning app like SwissCovid.
You can “turn on motion notifications” and then you will be prompted to install at least one (or more) of the supported national Corona warning apps.
If SwissCovid is installed, Switzerland will be shown as the “Active Region”. And infected people can open the app with the push of a button to enter their “diagnosis” (the Covid code). And thus activate the alert of “contacts” who were close for 15 minutes or more.
Another novelty is the “monthly update” function which, according to the description, allows you to receive a message informing you of “possible encounters”. This feature has caused confusion in the recent past.
5 – Can I use several national applications?
If that’s possible. Although only one application can be set as the “hot region” at a time, the new system settings simplify the parallel use of multiple applications. “Authorized regions” can be added.
If you install multiple domestic apps and add them as authorized regions, you can easily switch between different countries, which is a relief, especially for cross-border travelers.
6 – Do alert applications now work across borders?
No not yet.
But there is a possibility.
Apple writes:
National health authorities would have to give Apple and Google the green light to activate the express function so that everything works without applications.
Lastly, there’s the new “Share Trip Status” feature.
In the description it says:
According to The Verge, it should now be possible to link tracking systems from different US states via operating systems. The Verge writes:
7 – can it be disabled?
Yes. Corona warning technology built into iOS and Android turns on and off in settings.
Apple writes:
Important: The express function is disabled by default, so it should have been enabled by the user.
8 – For whom is the express function important?
Mainly for the many countries or governments that have not yet implemented a tracking system.
Apple is trying to incorporate as many US states as possible, especially in its own country. In most regions there is not yet a tracking application based on the Exposure Reporting System (ENS). Apple and Google announced ENS on May 20.
SwissCovid app developers worked with Apple and Google engineers to release Bluetooth-based cell phone distance estimates. SwissCovid was the first application in the world that ENS tested “live”.
9 – How is it implemented?
According to the 9to5Mac report, the goal is to create a system quickly and easily in which the health authorities present the two companies “a configuration file with basic information on how / when notifications should be activated and the next steps after receiving an advert”. Other requested information included an agency logo and text that would be displayed to users.
The technical implementation of the express function differs fundamentally between iOS and Android.
Google will take the information provided by the health authority and create an Android application on behalf of the health authority. Then it starts with the Google Play Store notifying users that an app is available. Then you install the application in a workflow similar to the current one, but you must accept additional permissions.
10 – Which countries in Europe already have an application of this type?
- Denmark
- Germany
- Estonia
- Ireland
- Italy
- Croatia
- Latvia
- Austria
- Poland
- Portugal
- Switzerland
- Spain
Regarding Liechtenstein, the feature is said to be unavailable, despite the SwissCovid app being used according to an earlier government announcement.
11 – What about the United States?
Only a few states in the US have published a corresponding app based on the interfaces provided by Apple and Google.
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Nevada
- North Dakota
- Virginia
- Wyoming
According to the two US companies, another 25 US states and territories are examining the possibilities of digital contact tracking. The chains of infection have already been broken thanks to technology.
Washington DC, Maryland, Nevada and Virginia are early adopters of the new system, according to 9to5Mac.
12 – In which other countries in the world does a compatible application already exist?
- Brazil
- Ecuador
- Japan
- Canada
- Philipinen
- Saudi Arabia
- South Africa
- Uruguay
13 – On which smartphones does this work?
iPhones with iOS 13.Android from version 6.
This means that the corona warning technology does not work on the iPhone 6 and other older mobile devices.
