Apple Releases iOS 13.7 With In-built Contact Tracing Modalities

Apple has released iOS 13.7, with support for a new Covid-19 tracing system.

The operating system is just an extension of the already existing contact tracing exposure notification that was built in collaboration with Google.

The only difference is that users from any country or region will not be required to build a new app for the same function.

The software framework was expected following the announcement by the two tech giants back in April.

Google and Apple said that they were designing a contact tracing system through a complex BLE Beacon protocol.

BLE stands for Bluetooth Low Energy, which means it will use your phone battery sparingly. Basically, if a person using the OS on the phone gets a positive diagnosis, they can choose to enter their info on a central database.

Your phone will then access the database and detect whether any of your contacts match with the logs in the database.If there is a match, you will get an alert letting you know that you have been exposed.

“As the next step in our work with public health authorities on Exposure Notifications, we are making it easier and faster for them to use the Exposure Notifications System without the need for them to build and maintain an app,” Apple and Google said in a joint statement.

“Exposure Notifications Express provides another option for public health authorities to supplement their existing contact tracing operations with technology without compromising on the project’s core tenets of user privacy and security.

“Existing apps using the Exposure Notification API will be compatible with Exposure Notifications Express, and we are committed to supporting public health authorities that have deployed or are building custom apps,” the statement read.

iOS 13.7 is already available for download.

Email your news TIPS to Editor@kahawatungu.com or WhatsApp +254707482874. You can also find us on Telegram through www.t.me/kahawatungu