Skip to Content

More Countries Implement Apple/Google API in Contact Tracing Apps, Including Germany, Poland, and Saudi Arabia

Germany, Poland, and Saudi Arabia are among the latest countries to implement Apple's and Google's jointly developed Exposure Notification API in their respective COVID-19 contact tracing apps, available on the App Store.

saudi arabia covid app
Apple released the Exposure Notification API as part of iOS 13.5 last month. At the time, Apple said that 22 countries had requested and received access to the API, with the U.S. states of Alabama, North Dakota, and South Carolina also committed to using the API. Some other participating countries include Italy, Latvia, and Switzerland.

Apple and Google created this API to allow iPhones and Android smartphones to interface with one another for contact tracing purposes. If and when you happen to be nearby someone who later tests positive for COVID-19, you can receive a notification and take the appropriate steps to self isolate and seek medical help if necessary.

The API relies on Bluetooth, is designed with privacy in mind, and is disabled by default. Read our Exposure Notification guide for more details.

(Thanks to Nicolas Oestreich of iFun.de, Piotr Kurnat, and Hussain!)

Popular Stories

iOS 27 Mock Quick

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Be Like Mac OS X Snow Leopard

Sunday March 15, 2026 9:42 am PDT by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that iOS 27 will be similar to 2009's Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that one of Apple's biggest priorities is bug fixes for improved performance and stability. During WWDC 2008's State of the Union, Apple showed a slide that said Mac OS X Snow Leopard had "0 new features," as it opted to focus on performance and...
AirPods Max 2 Feature

Apple Announces AirPods Max 2 With H2 Chip and More

Monday March 16, 2026 6:12 am PDT by
Apple today unveiled AirPods Max 2, with key upgrades including the H2 chip, increased active noise cancellation, improved sound quality, and features such as Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Voice Isolation, and Live Translation. The new AirPods Max have the same overall design as the previous generation, with most of the new features coming from the upgrade to the H2 chip:- Adaptive ...
iOS 27 Mock Quick

10+ New Features Coming in iOS 27

Friday March 13, 2026 2:13 pm PDT by
We're only three months away from Apple's WWDC 2026 event, which will see the company unveil iOS 27. With the fully revamped version of Siri possibly delayed until September, iOS 27 is shaping up to be the update we wanted iOS 26 to be. There will be new Apple Intelligence features, updates for the iPhone Fold, and more, with the latest rumors summarized below. Foldable iPhone Features...

Top Rated Comments

AustinIllini Avatar
75 months ago
Oh look! The US is behind again. no kidding
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
75 months ago

While a recent poll suggests that 70% of Americans refuse to use a contact tracing app-

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/06/more-than-7-in-10-americans-dont-want-contact-tracing-data-shows/
Wow, such a privacy minded country. No wonder Facebook and Google are struggling to survive …
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
needsomecoffee Avatar
75 months ago
Germany's code is available for review on Github.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DaveMcM76 Avatar
75 months ago

Whereas in the UK we're still planning to use a Centralised system....
Ah yes our wonderful Track and Trace system that will be fully ready to go by the end of April... erm, we meant May... ok, maybe June... look, we might have bits of it running by September! 🤦‍♂️
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
75 months ago
Beyond idiotic to do this by state only in the US. What’s the Federal Government even good for then? How is a tracing app useful if so many people cross state borders every day.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
75 months ago
Whereas in the UK we're still planning to use a Centralised system....
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)