Australia released the Corona Virus Contact Tracking app on Sunday, recording over a million downloads in just a few hours, the BBC reported. With COVIDSafe, when devices come within 5 feet of each other, they perform a "digital handshake" to notify users if they have been in contact with an infected person for more than 15 minutes.
Australia's voluntary app is based on Singapore's TraceTogether software and uses Bluetooth and stored contact data. Reuters Reported. The government said that the app does not collect location data and that infected people must agree to share the data.
The Australian government says that only health authorities can access data stored in their apps, and it is legally impossible for other authorities to access the data.
Earlier this month, Apple and Google announced a framework for developing distributed contact tracking apps. The information is anonymous and the company has promised to disable the service in the event of a virus. No country has yet signed using this particular framework. Missouri Senate Josh Hawley forced the company's CEO to take personal responsibility for the data collected as part of the project.
Germany announced on Sunday that it is shifting toward developing contact racing apps that use a decentralized architecture that is better suited to Apple and Google's approach. Reuters Reported.