A number of people have begun to send the message on social media platforms, such as WhatsApp, that an exposure sensor for COVID-19 has been inserted into every single smartphone without the users actually being announced. This message actually refers to the contact tracing system for COVID-19 that Google and Apple have teamed up to build, so that exposure notification is enabled on both iPhone and Android devices. It must be noted that this does not mean that your phone has secretly had a tracker installed inside of it.
The message has been spread widely on WhatsApp and it is quite clear: an exposure sensor for COVID-19 has been installed on all iPhone and Android devices. According to the message, the sensor becomes active once users turn on the Bluetooth function of their phone. Similar messages have been spread on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
This message is incredibly misleading, but, at its essence, it is a half-truth. Currently, both tech giants, Google and Apple, are working on a solution for contact tracing regarding COVID-19, but an application has definitely not been installed on your device without you permitting it. Should you hear that the app has been installed on your device, please be aware that that information is false. This has been stressed by Full Fact, a UK-based fact-checking organization.
Android devices have seen a new service appear in the Google settings menu. That is theoretically meant for COVID-19 exposure notifications. Should you press on that service, you will find out that Google has not secretly installed anything on your phone. Or, at least, they have not installed anything that is COVID-19-related on your smartphone yet. Actually, to turn on the newly available COVID-19 exposure notifications, you will require a participation application. Some governments have went as far as to build these sort of apps using the new system.
