Contact tracing, a public health tactic in use for decades by health officials to identify and track the transmission of viruses from person to person, had until now primarily been a manual process. But the development of contact tracing apps, which can provide authorities with a much more complete picture of where people have been, with whom, and for how long, has heightened concerns among civil liberties organizations and experts about a potential infringement on privacy rights.
One leading developer of contact tracing apps, Tel Aviv-based GlobeKeeper, is now in talks with various US states and private companies to deploy its COVID-19 tracking app SAFE.
