Digital Tracking
 

Has anyone, besides me, opted in on the Apple/Google partnership apps for Covid19 digital tracking? If not, why not?

Until I see a GUARANTEE that NONE of my location data will ever be released I will NOT opt in for any type of tracking, even for the good of society, sorry. I have GPS tracking turned off on my phone and turn it on only when absolutely required, and then turn off again. I do NOT trust Google, and I have an Android phone and refuse to allow Google or any of the other services on this phone to access my location. I use manual control for this, I consider a little paranoia a good thing. The article I saw about this function specifically stated that location data would NOT be collected but somehow there would be notifications that you came in possible contact with a person that was positive, IMHO, that means somehow they KNOW where you are.....

The ability to track a cell phone's location based solely on your phone signal has always been there. GPS is just one way to track the location but there are others.

Mobile phone tracking - Wikipedia

Only apple I have is a Honey Crisp

I very rarely use my phone and leave it turned off most of the time.

Tracking
 

So which App do you have? There seem to be several.

Apple and Google are partnering to develop a common app, due in May and that will be the one I will use.....won't be perfect because it only covers their phones but it is a start. I understand they will make it available to other manufacturers after the initial availability.

I can only imagine, a Villager with the virus walks into a restaurant and everyones phones sound an alarm like an Amber Alert. I'm hoping I am way off base with this semi tongue in cheek comment.

More like a viral alert :a040:

What about wristband tracking using satellite like onstar? Everyone would get one and data would be fed into a main computer ie cloud. Those positive would be identified and anyone around them100 meters would be notified that they are in the vicinity of a positive. Oh yeah, I think S Korea is doing some of this already. And yesterday they had in a country of 52 million people, 11 new cases and only 1 new death.

It is probably a pipe dream in Western countries.

No way, I hate apps that track everything I do. I try to keep my phone as app free as possible. Also, I often leave my phone home or turn it off. I think the better question would be why WOULD someone want a tracking app on their phone? I suppose if someone had dementia and was worried about getting lost and needed a love one to be able to find them. That's about the only reason I can think of. I also would never use on of the so called smart speakers like Alexia, that can listen to everything that goes on in your household. Way too intruding.

That is the concern by the medical community.

What is Alexia?

Alexa...

Using anonimized google location tracking data gives a view of how people have changed their travel habits over the last 6 weeks; very interesting charts:
COVID-19 Community Mobility Reports
You can select any country or any state in the US.

If it helps count me in. I don't do anything that needs to be hidden and believe it or not everything that needs to be known about you already is.

Put your name in any Search Engine for a shocking start. :faint:

We are at the point, “Your papers please”. I will not participate, thank you.

Nah, "your papers" are digitzed and they know everything they need to know about you. If you have a cell phone they always know where you are, if you use a credit card they have all your financial information, if you have a drivers license they know about your criminal history. Letting you know if you have been close to someone that tested positive, to me, is a benefit.

Why

A point of clarification, if the people developing the APP guarantee the data cannot be used by the bad guys this tracking is probably a good idea. But there have been so many data breaches that I cannot see the security of this data be guaranteed, so after a data breach who knows who will be tracking you.

What I read about this partnership is that there will be no data retained because there is no need to keep it. You will be notified that someone who tested positive was close to you. You really are only a number. It is then on you to go get tested, nobody will contact you other than the text you receive. That of course is still in development but they stressed, at least in the release I read, that this not a big brother thing. Scale will be critical and my belief is that the majority of my generation will avoid participating but those behind us will be active participants.

I would think that things like the SunPass could also be used for tracking purposes.

I don't trust them either, not even a guarantee.

I don't trust what "they" say, that's why.

If you knew that in the last week you passed someone with COVID, what would you do differently? Answer that question and you have your answer to wanting to be tracked. Of course this assumes that everyone who is COVID positive is being tracked which certainly they are not. It assumes every COVID positive person knows they are positive whereas we know most have no symptoms. We see on this thread that lots of people don't carry a phone or have tracking off.

Instead just behave as if within a week you are not unlikely to pass someone who whether they know it or not is contagious. I don't see what the proposed nearness requirement for a warning would be here, but if it is 100 meters in S Korea, that is 330 feet. A football field, not including end zones, is 300 feet. Do you think you won't pass within a football field of a COVID positive person while this is still ongoing?

I think it would make me more aware of people but then I’m already dodging everyone coming too close....takes me back to elementary school playing dodge ball.