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Exposure Notifications: Aid tiresome the spread of COVID-19, with i footstep on your phone

Google and Apple jointly created the Exposure Notifications System out of a shared sense of responsibility to help governments and our global customs fight this pandemic through contact tracing.

Overview

How Exposure Notifications tin help

Traditional methods of contact tracing are disquisitional to containing the spread of infection. Engineering science can support and augment these efforts past allowing public health government to quickly notify people who may have been exposed to a person who has contracted COVID-xix, including those the person might not know direct. This starts with Exposure Notifications on your smartphone. These will aid your public wellness authority alert yous if yous've been exposed to COVID-xix.

On Android, you can discover the app for your area, if bachelor, on Google Play.

If you accept an iPhone, opt-in to Exposure Notifications in your device settings.

Using Exposure Notifications helps yous protect your community — even if y'all've been vaccinated.

Hear from the people Exposure Notifications has helped

Molly Moon, Entrepreneur

Molly Moon, Entrepreneur

"I was hesitant to reopen, merely knew if I didn't, there wouldn't be a company for my employees to return to. Exposure Notifications help all of the states feel protected as we bring joy back to our community."

Ryan and Jennifer

Ryan and Jennifer

"We're vaccinated, but that doesn't hateful COVID-xix won't take an impact on united states of america now. If there's a risk of exposure, why wouldn't we continue Exposure Notifications enabled to let us know?"

Chris, Pastor

Chris, Pastor

"If someone tested positive, Exposure Notifications volition privately alert anyone they've come in contact with. Being dorsum together ways the earth to the congregation, and Exposure Notification helps make that possible."

How Exposure Notifications work

Public health government effectually the globe are building apps that use the Exposure Notifications System to help their contact tracing efforts. On Android, you can find the app for your expanse, if available, on Google Play. Android users volition also receive a notification from the Play Shop, if their country has made Exposure Notifications available.

If you have an iPhone, opt-in to Exposure Notifications in your device settings.

One time you lot opt-in to the notification organization, the Exposure Notifications Arrangement volition generate a random ID for your device. To help ensure these random keys can't exist used to identify you or your location, they change every 10-xx minutes.

Your phone and the phones around you lot will piece of work in the background to exchange these privacy-preserving random keys via Bluetooth. Y'all practise not need to have the app open for this process to have place.

Your phone periodically checks all the random keys associated with positive COVID-xix cases against its own list.

If there's a match, you will receive a COVID-19 exposure notification, with further instructions from your public wellness say-so on how to keep you and the people around you safe.

Exposure Notifications and your privacy

We understand how of import your privacy is. Here'due south how we've built this organization to respect your privacy and keep you in control.

You control whether you receive Exposure Notifications

This technology only works if you decide to opt-in. If you modify your heed, y'all can turn it off at whatsoever time.

The Exposure Notifications Organization doesn't track your location

The Exposure Notifications Arrangement does not collect or use the location from your device. It uses Bluetooth, which can be used to detect if two devices are well-nigh each other — without revealing where the devices are.

Neither Google, Apple, nor other users can see your identity

All of the Exposure Notification matching happens on your device. The system does non share your identity with other users, Apple, or Google. Public health regime may enquire yous for additional data, such every bit a phone number, to contact you with boosted guidance.

Only public health regime can employ this system

Only public wellness authorities volition be able to use this system. They must meet specific criteria around privacy, security, and information use.

Already turned on Exposure Notifications, what's next?

Thank yous for taking a stride in protecting your friends, family and community past enabling Exposure Notifications. Using Exposure Notifications helps you lot protect your community — even if you've been vaccinated.

FAQ

If y'all receive an Exposure Notification...

If yous exam positive for COVID-19...

If you receive a notification, it means that someone that you were nigh tested positive for COVID-19 and chose to privately share their diagnosis in the Exposure Notifications Organisation. The notification volition allow yous to accept action to protect yourself and those around you lot, like getting tested, seeking medical attention, quarantining, etc. Visit your public wellness website for specific guidance.

The Exposure Notifications System itself does not collect or store information such as your proper name, contacts, or location, and does not share that information with other users.

Some health regime may ask for your information. You can cull to share your information when you utilise Exposure Notifications.

Once you enable Exposure Notifications, the arrangement will continuously run in the background to scan for other phones with Exposure Notifications enabled that y'all are near. If someone y'all were about after tests positive for COVID-19 and they study their test result in Exposure Notifications, y'all may exist alerted about a potential exposure without the system needing to know your identity or the identities of other people you accept been almost.

The Exposure Notification System uses your phone'due south Bluetooth Low Free energy (BLE) signal strength to determine proximity to other phones. At that place are many factors that can bear upon BLE betoken force, but generally the closer two phones are to each other, the stronger the point force between the two.

Visit your public health website for specific guidance.

Afterwards you receive a positive test issue, you may receive a SMS or a call from your wellness authorisation. They volition provide y'all with a lawmaking that you can use to upload your diagnosis into the Exposure Notifications Organisation.

By uploading your lawmaking, you are helping to keep those virtually yous safe by alerting them and so they know that they may have been exposed. In fact, a study conducted in England/Wales showed that every lawmaking upload can cease one COVID-19 infection. Uploading your diagnosis does non reveal your proper noun or personal information to other Exposure Notifications users.

This information remains private to you, your testing provider, and the health authority. When someone receives a notification about possible exposure, they volition only know approximately how many days agone the exposure happened. Your proper name, the time of the exposure, or where the exposure occurred volition not be shared as office of the notification.

At that place are different reasons why y'all may not receive an Exposure Notification. To start, the person who tested positive needs to exist an Exposure Notification user and choose to upload their positive diagnosis.

In addition, your wellness say-so determines whether you receive a notification based on how shut and long you were most another Exposure Notification user. Visit your wellness say-so's Exposure Notification website for more than information.

Yes. In addition to existence vaccinated, Exposure Notifications is another tool to aid wearisome the spread and is an added layer of protection to others in your community. Keeping Exposure Notifications turned on makes a difference, equally the technology works improve when more people utilise it.

Helpful links and specs