UK's Contact Tracing App Will Reportedly Use Apple/Google Solution After All

In what appears to be a reversal of course, the BBC today reported that the United Kingdom's National Health Service will adopt Apple's and Google's Exposure Notification API for its COVID-19 contact tracing app after all.

Other countries that have committed to using the API include Italy, Latvia, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, and Saudi Arabia, among others.

Apple released the API as part of iOS 13.5 last month. At the time, the company said that 22 countries had requested and received access to the API, along with the U.S. states of Alabama, North Dakota, and South Carolina.

Apple and Google created the 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.

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