As of today, the iOS 14 beta supports the Exposure Notification API, which will let iOS 14 users download Exposure Notification and COVID tracking apps in countries where those apps are available.
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Exposure Notification support was added in the fourth beta released this morning, and it is listed as a feature in the update's release notes.
Exposure Notification was released as an iOS 13.5 update back in May, but the API was not added to iOS 14 until today, which prevented iOS 14 users from being able to download and use apps that take advantage of the Exposure Notification API.
That wasn't a major issue when only developers were able to download iOS 14, but it became a problem when the public beta was released and more people had iOS 14 installed as none of those people could use contact tracing apps.
Exposure Notification now works on both iOS 13 and iOS 14, with apps that use the API available in Canada, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Croatia, Denmark, and more.
For more on Exposure Notification and how it works, make sure to check out our Exposure Notification guide.
Top Rated Comments
That's right, getting tested and quarantining yourself until you get the result.Honest question: What do you do if you are notified that you may have been exposed? Quarantine yourself? Get tested each time? That seems impractical and unnecessary. I'm sure it generates a lot of interesting data, but for what?
The notification is actually more nuanced than many people think. I've seen instances when you get the info you had 1 possible contact, meaning you met a person that was later confirmed positive, but you haven't been around for more than 10 minutes. This is a mild risk. When there's a high risk, not getting tested and self quarantining could require getting your family and / or co-workers infected.
That's both unethical and a lot more unnecessary.
Worst case: The whole exposure notification doesn't help much.
Best case: You prevent yourself from infecting someone else.
We're one species, one planet. Let's work together on this, people!
Uncle of my bf: DEADHonest question: What do you do if you are notified that you may have been exposed? Quarantine yourself? Get tested each time? That seems impractical and unnecessary. I'm sure it generates a lot of interesting data, but for what?
Uncles brother: DEAD
2nd brother: DEAD
step grandpa of my bf: infected
bfs mum & dad: unknown, cuz they refuse to test them unless they show symptoms even though they were in the house helping the sick grandpa
so yeah, any attempt in helping so slow down the spread is good enough for me
You should schedule a test and otherwise keep social distancing. It may be impractical and feel unnecessary but it is really implemented in order to protect people.Honest question: What do you do if you are notified that you may have been exposed? Quarantine yourself? Get tested each time? That seems impractical and unnecessary. I'm sure it generates a lot of interesting data, but for what?
While you may think you may "beat this" there are a lot of elderly and people with poor health that will probably not make it. I, for one, am primarily following the guidelines in order to protect my own family but in doing so others will benefit too
The nature of the app requires getting the test results from the health authority.I don't see why we should be trusting the government with this - or even why we should be looking to the government to do this. I'd trust Apple (and even Google) to release their app for anyone to use. I'd install it in a second. Instead we have to wait for the states (in the US) to create apps.
There are open source apps using this with the source on GitHub. Hey, Apple, Google, just open it up so that anyone can use the app without the need for some government involvement. If they had done this in May, everyone worldwide would have at least one app to use.
If Apple and Google offered an app that serves "honor system" data, where infected individuals enter the data manually, the app would be untrustworthy ("the boy who cried wolf").
Apple and Google actually made and offers sample app that essentially requires just the back-end integration, but the US government either disagrees with using tech for contact tracing or hasn't prioritized the project.
It's not just about software, but also hardware. The protocol utilizes Bluetooth to detect those around you. Bluetooth has evolved through several versions, and older devices will have older Bluetooth versions which may not support the type of signalling that's requiring. (I don't know). Then there's battery capacity, with many turning Bluetooth off to extend battery life, again rendering the detection of those around you null and void.Unfortunately the majority of at-risk people have old devices and cannot install these apps or OS version. Sadly Apple does not seem to be concerned.