Ireland Launches COVID-19 App That Uses Apple/Google Exposure Notification API

Ireland today released "COVID Tracker Ireland," a COVID-19 contact tracing app that takes advantage of Apple and Google's Exposure Notification API.

irelandexposurenotification
The app, which is opt in, says that users will be alerted if they come in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus. Those exposed will be able to track their symptoms, get advice on what to do, and choose to anonymously warn others they've been in contact with.

The app downloads a list of anonymous IDs every two hours from those who have contracted coronavirus, letting users in Ireland get alerts as soon as possible. Alerts will be triggered if a user has been within two meters of a person who is diagnosed with COVID-19 for more than 15 minutes, so long as both parties have the COVID app installed.

Alerts will advise people who have been exposed to coronavirus to limit their movements and get tested. The app will not inform users who they came into contact with during the exposure notification nor the place where it happened.

According to the app's release notes, Ireland is employing a three prong approach to exposure notification, which includes contact tracing for identifying those who have been in close contact with a person that has coronavirus, COVID check-in for those with coronavirus to share their symptoms and how they feel, and updates and information such as the latest facts and figures on coronavirus in Ireland.

As with all apps that use the ‌Exposure Notification‌ API, usage is opt-in and privacy is a focus. Even after opting in, choosing to share a coronavirus diagnosis is also optional. All data collected is stored on the device itself, and name, location, and movements are not tracked.

In a statement to Ireland's The Journal, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said that the app could be a "really powerful part of the toolkit" for fighting coronavirus.

"It allows every single person to play an extra part. It will allow us to get on with contact tracing in a matter of hours, it will allow people who have the app to completely control their own data, there will be no centralisation of data," Donnolly said.

"The people themselves can choose if they want to anonymously share with close contacts that they have tested positive. It's a very, very powerful tool. We'll be getting into more of the detail tomorrow and we'll be really encouraging as many people as possible to download and use it."

Along with Ireland, several other countries have released apps that use Apple and Google's ‌Exposure Notification‌ API, including Switzerland, Latvia, Italy, Germany, Poland, and Saudi Arabia, while other countries, such as the UK, have apps in the works.

The UK did not originally plan to use Apple and Google's solution, but in mid-June, the National Health Service said that it would adopt the ‌Exposure Notification‌ API after all.

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 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...
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. ...
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

CarlJ Avatar
65 months ago

Why won't Americans allow their government to track their every movement? Sheesh, such a small act of service to let your every move be cataloged!
GO. READ. THE. DAMN. SPEC ('https://covid19-static.cdn-apple.com/applications/covid19/current/static/contact-tracing/pdf/ExposureNotification-FAQv1.1.pdf'). The API is impossible to use for what you describe. And this has been patiently explained in these forums ad nauseam. Yet a loud contingent here keeps righteously complaining that it does something that it in fact DOES NOT DO and cannot do, by design. You made a guess about how it works, and then you campaign against the ramifications of that guess you made. But you guessed wrong. The details of how it actually works are well documented and freely available. Go read them.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gretafour Avatar
65 months ago
It saddens me to know with certainty that most Americans would be unwilling to take on a small act of service like this.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
masterleep Avatar
65 months ago
If we had semi functional government at any level, this would be available in the U.S.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rigby Avatar
65 months ago

Listen to all of you. The API exists, yet you say the U.S. government(s) needs to do something with it. Anything. ANYTHING!

So, what if an app is created by the CDC or a state-specific health department? Do you believe that federal or state law shall/does righteously allows the government to compel people to use such an app?

Since this is what you’re advocating (or the lack of “missing leadership” you’re bemoaning)
You seem to be confusing leadership with dictatorship. Real leaders can convince people and don't need to "compel" them.
then why are you okay with the government just mandate the implementation of this wonderful technology now, with penalties of fines/imprisonment for those who don’t comply? And then likewise mandate that everyone over the age of X purchase and carry a cellphone and mandate they maintain a plan?
What are you even talking about?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
calzon65 Avatar
65 months ago
It would be fantastic if the opt-in also included a free pint of Guinness
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarlJ Avatar
65 months ago

Diazepam. Works wonders.

Edit: Thanks for the laughs I got from your thumbs down. So wound up you can't fathom taking a chill pill.
Not wound up, sick to death of fools repeatedly insisting that a tool will be used for a nefarious purpose that it is simply incapable of doing, by design. If it were in the abstract, I’d simply roll my eyes and move on, but these ignorant fools are endangering public health by running around spreading fear and conspiracy theories. Hey, but chill, why worry about a few thousand more preventable deaths, right?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)