U.S. Government Exploring Ways to Use Smartphone Location Data to Track Coronavirus Spread

The United States government is in talks with Facebook, Google, and other tech companies about how location data from smartphones can be used to combat the coronavirus, reports The Washington Post.

coronaviruscdc
Tech companies could aggregate anonymous location data that could be used to map the spread of the coronavirus and determine whether social distancing is an effective virus mitigation strategy. The discussions, and the project, are in the early stages.

Facebook executives have said that the government is interested in understanding the patterns of people's movements, which can be provided through Facebook data. Facebook has in the past offered this kind of information in the form of disease prevention maps for health researchers, and officials could use the data to predict hotspots and where to allocate health resources.

"We're encouraged by American technology companies looking to leverage aggregate, anonymized data to glean key insights for COVID-19 modeling efforts," said an official with the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, who spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Government sources say they are "not building a government database" and that insights gleaned from location data could "help public health officials, researchers, and scientists improve their understanding of the spread of COVID19 and transmission of the disease."

As The Washington Post points out, using smartphone location data in this way could make some Americans uncomfortable, depending on how it's implemented. The data that Facebook provides for other disease tracking projects limits the granularity of location data to a third of a mile, with no data provided about an individual's movement.

"You're trying to predict the probability that a group of people in Prince George's County might interact with a group of people from D.C.," said Laura McGorman, who leads the project. Such a prediction could offer clues for how infections might travel.

Multiple tech companies, including Apple, Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon, met with White House officials last week, where they were asked to help the government with its response to the growing outbreak.

Google is now working on an informational coronavirus website that's set to launch in the near future, which comes after President Trump mistakenly announced that Google was working on a comprehensive site that would allow people to check symptoms, arrange tests, and get test results.

Verily, a Google company, had planned to launch a coronavirus-focused website limited to the Bay Area of California, and the purpose of the site was misstated, leading to confusion. The Bay Area site has since launched, but Google is also now working on a site offering "COVID-19 education, prevention, and local resources."

White House officials, tech experts, and health officials have also created a portal of more than 29,000 coronavirus research papers that let AI tools scan and analyze data to discover new insights.

More information on the plans to use smartphone location data for combating the coronavirus can be found in The Washington Post's full article.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iphone 16 pro models 1

Here's How the iPhone 17 Pro Max Will Compare to the iPhone 17 Pro

Saturday July 5, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
Apple should unveil the iPhone 17 series in September, and there might be one bigger difference between the Pro and Pro Max models this year. As always, the Pro Max model will be larger than the Pro model:iPhone 17 Pro: 6.3-inch display iPhone 17 Pro Max: 6.9-inch displayGiven the Pro Max is physically larger than the Pro, it has more internal space, allowing for a larger battery and...
iPhone Car Key Kia

Here's Which Vehicles Offer iPhone Car Keys

Sunday July 6, 2025 3:03 pm PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. Apple has a web page with a list of vehicle models that ...
imac video apple feature

Apple Launching These 15+ Products Later This Year

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The calendar has turned to July, meaning that 2025 is now more than half over. And while the summer months are often quiet for Apple, the company still has more than a dozen products coming later this year, according to rumors. Below, we have outlined at least 15 new Apple products that are expected to launch later this year, along with key rumored features for each. iPhone 17 Series iPho...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
iphone 17 pro render majin bu

New iPhone 17 Pro Renders Highlight Apple Logo and MagSafe Design Changes

Sunday July 6, 2025 8:43 pm PDT by
New renders today provide the best look yet relocated Apple logo and redesigned MagSafe magnet array of the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Image via Majin Bu. Several of the design changes coming to the iPhone 17 Pro model have been rumored for some time, such as the elongated camera bump that spans the full width of the device, with the LiDAR Scanner and flash moving to the right side. ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
Prime Day 25 Feature Warm Triad

The Best Early Prime Day Deals on Apple Products

Saturday July 5, 2025 7:22 am PDT by
Amazon is soon to be back with its annual summertime Prime Day event, lasting for four days from July 8-11, the longest Prime Day yet. As it does every year, Prime Day offers shoppers a huge selection of deals across Amazon's storefront, and there are already many deals you can get on sale ahead of the event. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a ...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...

Top Rated Comments

parsonsmike Avatar
69 months ago
This won't end well.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
LessO2 Avatar
69 months ago
We don’t want this. Once The G gets power, it never, EVER lets it go.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Razeus Avatar
69 months ago
You mean the same government that is trying to covertly pass an anti end to end encryption bill while this is going on while no one is paying attention?

Don't trust this for a second.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bsbeamer Avatar
69 months ago
It's amazing how "we" jump from 0 to 100 in times of a crisis, then look back 10-15 years later and ask how we got here. Its decisions and actions like this.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dragicon Avatar
69 months ago

Most posters *above seem to have missed one word while reading it.

Edit: *And under
It’s funny that you think you can be anonymous on your phone.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NachoGrande Avatar
69 months ago
Oh boy.... not building a government database :rolleyes:
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)