With Apple and Google announcing that they will be joining forces to develop tools to limit the spread of the coronavirus, questions of how this technology will handle users personal information.

The two tech giants are building a mobile app for billions of users that would use Bluetooth wireless technology to allow public agencies to track what phones have been in contact with each other. When a new case is reported the app will notify any phones that have been in contact with wit the person over the past 7 days and steer them into getting tested for the virus.

The app will not notify users of the identity of the potential contact, or where the contact happened. Phones will exchange anonymous identifiers that change every 15 minutes. When an infection is reported, the app will send notice to all phones that share the identifying code during the crucial timeframe.

Apps like this are already being tested in Singapore and South Korea tracking phones and credit card transactions which allowed for tracking of a infected persons movements during the day and notify anyone who may have been in contact with them.

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