Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced the statewide launch of a smartphone app that notifies users when they have been exposed to other users who have tested positive for COVID-19.
The CA Notify app, which will be available to download across the state on Apple and Google smartphones starting Thursday, is a voluntary, opt-in program. That means "the more people that participate, the more effective this program can be," Newsom said Monday at a press briefing.
Developed in partnership with Google and Apple, and piloted by researchers at UC San Diego and UCSF, the app uses Bluetooth technology to exchange random codes between phones without revealing either users' identity or location. Any user who tests positive for the virus will receive a text from the state Department of Public Health with a verification code to enter into the app. Any other app users who have been within 6 feet of that person for 15 minutes in the last 14 days will receive an anonymous notification of possible exposure.
This is "an additional tool in the toolkit in terms of your safety protocols," Newsom said, underscoring that the app maintains each user's security and privacy and does not track locations. "It's 100% private, 100% secure, 100% voluntary. You opt in or you choose not to."
The efficacy of the app, however, will be based entirely on the number of people who actually choose to use it. A recent Associated Press analysis found that most states have been slow to adopt the technology, which was introduced a full six months ago. California is only the 19th state to use the app. In Connecticut, which has the highest app usage rate so far, only about 1 in 5 residents have opted into the notifications. The analysis found that public health officials are struggling to get the word out amid rampant COVID-19 misinformation, as well as privacy concerns, tech issues and political polarization.
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–Matthew Green (MGreenKQED)