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Your phone can send you an alert if you were near someone who has coronavirus - CNN
Nov 26, 2020 2 mins, 9 secs
The alerts come via state health department apps that use Bluetooth technology to detect when you (or more precisely, your phone) has been in close contact with an infected person's phone.

While these apps can't keep you safe -- they only let you know after you've been exposed -- they could prevent others from getting infected if you take precautions, such as self-quarantining, after receiving an alert.

Health officials believe the alerts could be especially helpful in cases where an infected person has been in contact with strangers -- for example in a bus, train or checkout line -- who wouldn't otherwise know they were exposed.

How the notifications work

iPhones and Android devices contain constantly changing anonymous codes that ping nearby phones via Bluetooth -- a process that starts once the user opts to get the notifications.

For the exposure notifications to be effective, Android users must turn on Bluetooth and download their state's Covid-19 notification app.

The apps assess your risk on the strength of the Bluetooth signal (how close you were to the other person) and the duration of your contact with them.

Where you can get them

At least 15 states are taking part in this Covid-19 exposure notification system.

The apps don't collect data on users or their locations, and there is no way to link Covid diagnoses and alerts to names and identities on phones, Gischlar said.

Unlike a previous notification system widely touted at the beginning of the pandemic that used GPS, which tracks a person's location, the Bluetooth system helps maintain privacy and anonymity among users.

"The fact that they use Bluetooth to bounce signals off other phones close to you, as opposed to tracking your location, does make them less invasive, and people shouldn't worry their location is being tracked -- it isn't," said Steve Waters, founder of Contrace Public Health Corps, which provides guidance on Covid-19 contact tracing.

This is especially important in places near state borders where people work in one state and live in another.

For example, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware have formed a regional alliance that uses a similar system that allows their apps to work across state lines, Anscombe said.

States face some challenges in spreading them

The alert system is designed to complement traditional contact tracing, not work alone.

Many state health departments are already overwhelmed by the virus' resurgence, and some may not have the resources to develop and maintain an app, Anscombe said.

The earlier, GPS-based notification system caused an outcry among privacy advocates and has created skepticism about contact tracing in general, Waters said.

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