Linux Foundation Launches COVID-19 Project to Help Health Authorities Make Apps With Apple's API

by

The Linux Foundation today announced the launch of a new Linux Foundation Public Health Initiative (LFPH) (via TechRepublic) that uses open source technologies including Apple and Google's Exposure Notification API to help public health authorities combat COVID-19.

linuxfoundationcovid
The LFPH includes Cisco, doc.ai, Geometer, IBM, NearForm, Tencent, and VMWare, and is launching with two exposure notification projects: COVID Shield and COVID Green.

COVID Shield and COVID Green are apps that use the Apple and Google-designed privacy-focused exposure notification API, with the apps rolling out in Canada, Ireland, and some U.S. states.

"To catalyze this open source development, Linux Foundation Public Health is building a global community of leading technology and consulting companies, public health authorities, epidemiologists and other public health specialists, privacy and security experts, and individual developers," said Dan Kohn, LFPH general manager. "While we're excited to launch with two very important open source projects, we think our convening function to enable collaboration to battle this pandemic may be our biggest impact."

COVID Shield, developed by a volunteer team at Shopify, is in the process of being deployed in Canada, while COVID Green was developed by a team at NearForm as part of the Irish Government's response to the pandemic. Both of the apps are being made available to public health authorities around the world to use and customize to create their own contact tracing apps.

Apple released its ‌Exposure Notification‌ API in May 2020 with the launch of iOS 13.5, but the API, designed in partnership with Google, has not yet seen wide adoption. Switzerland, Latvia, Italy, Germany, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, and Denmark have launched contact tracing apps that use the API so far.

Some states like Alabama, North Dakota, and South Carolina are working on a contact tracing app, but no apps using the Apple and Google API have been released in the U.S. so far. Contact tracing is believed to be of value as it is designed to let people know when they've been exposed to COVID-19 so they can quarantine themselves and cut down on the spread of the virus.

Tags: COVID-19 Coronavirus Guide, Exposure Notification Guide

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.5 With New Wallpaper, Screen Time Changes, Carrier Satellite Support for iPhone 13 and More

Monday May 12, 2025 10:06 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, the fifth updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 come a little over a month after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. The iOS 18.5 update has a...
Read Full Article • 44 comments
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

WSJ: Apple Weighing Price Hikes for iPhone 17 Lineup Without Blaming Tariffs

Monday May 12, 2025 3:36 am PDT by
Apple is considering raising prices for its upcoming iPhone 17 models set to release this fall, according to people familiar with the matter cited by The Wall Street Journal. The company reportedly aims to pair the potential price hikes with new features and design changes to justify the increased cost to consumers, rather than attributing them to U.S. tariffs on goods from China. The...
Read Full Article • 98 comments
iOS 18

iOS 18.5 Expected This Week With These New Features

Monday May 12, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple is expected to release iOS 18.5 to the general public this week. While the software update is relatively minor, it still includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.5. Pride Wallpaper Apple recently announced its 2025 Pride Collection, including a new Apple Watch band, watch face,...
Read Full Article • 28 comments
tvOS 18 Feature

Apple Releases tvOS 18.5

Monday May 12, 2025 10:01 am PDT by
Apple today released tvOS 18.5, the latest version of the tvOS operating system. tvOS 18.5 comes a little over a month after the launch of tvOS 18.4, and it is available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD models. tvOS 18.5 can be downloaded using the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Open up Settings and go to System > Software Update to get the new software. ‌Apple TV‌ owners who have...
Read Full Article • 9 comments
Mayday Calendar

Apple Acquisition Hints at Upgraded Calendar App on iOS 19 or Beyond

Friday May 9, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple acquired Canadian startup Mayday Labs in April 2024, according to a European Commission listing, spotted by French blog MacGeneration. The acquisition had not received widespread attention from tech publications until now. Apple is legally required to report certain acquisitions to the European Commission, under the terms of the EU's Digital Markets Act. Mayday Labs founder Jeremy...
Read Full Article • 73 comments
macOS Sequoia Feature

Apple Releases macOS Sequoia 15.5

Monday May 12, 2025 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.5, the fifth major update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that launched last September. macOS Sequoia 15.5 comes a little over a month after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.4. Mac users can download the ‌‌‌macOS Sequoia 15.5‌‌‌ update through the Software Update section of System Settings. It is available for free on all Macs able to run ...
Read Full Article • 46 comments
top stories 2025 05 10

Top Stories: iOS 18.5 Release Imminent, iPhone Rumors for 2025 and Beyond, and More

Saturday May 10, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
With Apple's developer conference where it will show off iOS 19 just a month away, the company is wrapping up work on iOS 18.5 ahead of an imminent release to deliver a few new features and updates. This week also saw a number of iPhone-related rumors, encompassing not only this year's iPhone 17 lineup but also Apple's plans for 2026 and 2027, even as Apple's Eddy Cue suggested AI could make ...
Read Full Article • 15 comments

Top Rated Comments

AngerDanger Avatar
AngerDanger
63 months ago

Reminds me of the Terminator series.
Fun fact: Industrial Light and Magic did the VFX for both The Abyss and Terminator 2. Despite the CGI face getting (I think) 10 seconds of screen time, it was considered a dry run for the effects they'd use in T2. :)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarlJ Avatar
CarlJ
63 months ago

When this was announced I remember some sentiment about would these APIs be needed in a few months. Who knew?
I hear it’ll all be over by April. And there’s only like 15 cases in the US and it’ll only go down from there.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarlJ Avatar
CarlJ
63 months ago

When I asked the representative of California governor Gavin Newsom whether contact tracing app is in the works, I was told that they are using several thousand people to do the work instead, using voice calls to notify people.
Unfortunately, that’s a bit like saying, “I don’t need seat belts, I’ve got ABS brakes in my car”. They’re both safety equipment, but they aren’t competing - they should both be used.

We need manual contact tracing and exposure notification apps (and masks, and social distancing, and strict limits on large gatherings). They have different strengths - e.g. manual contract tracers can be very thorough, but they can get backlogged, while this lightweight exposure notification system can scale to millions of notifications quite easily, while responding extremely quickly. Manual contract tracers can follow up and provide guidance and ask probing questions, but they can’t find out about places where a person went that they’ve forgotten or are unwilling to admit, while exposure notification apps can notify people who were at those forgotten locations (all without knowing what that place was - merely that people were nearby - and without letting anyone know who those people are). Exposure notification is not a replacement for contact tracing, but it can fill in a lot of holes that contact tracing would miss.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mnsportsgeek Avatar
mnsportsgeek
63 months ago

Contact tracing with mobile devices has been pretty widely panned by health experts, saying imprecision, false positives, and false negatives make it nearly useless.
How would those things be mitigated using people?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I7guy Avatar
I7guy
63 months ago
When this was announced I remember some sentiment about would these APIs be needed in a few months. Who knew?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nutmac Avatar
nutmac
63 months ago
Let's hope that US states take up on LFPH's offer. When I asked the representative of California governor Gavin Newsom whether contact tracing app is in the works, I was told that they are using several thousand people to do the work instead, using voice calls to notify people.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments