Apparently DC will start pushing the notifications to our phones today? Is anybody planning on installing it? Has anybody seen the code and can verify that it is actually not collecting anything as DC claims. I'd love to see that independently verified.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/coronavirus-dc-maryland-virginia/2020/10/19/888dd498-1200-11eb-ad6f-36c93e6e94fb_story.html
Residents with a smartphone will receive a push notification beginning Tuesday asking them to opt in to voluntary exposure notifications, D.C. Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt said. iPhone users will be able to opt in through their phone’s settings, while Android users will be prompted to download an app.
The service creates private, random Bluetooth “keys” for each phone user and shares that data with other DC CAN users nearby, Nesbitt said, including strangers encountered in a park or restaurant. Residents who test positive for the coronavirus will be given a code by D.C. health officials to enter into the service, which will notify everyone who received that individual’s Bluetooth key during the previous 14 days.
Nesbitt emphasized that the technology does not track location and said people who test positive for the coronavirus are not identified to other users, or to Apple or Google.
She said that DC CAN works with tracing tools in other states that use the same platform but noted that Maryland doesn’t have such an exposure notification tool and Virginia has a state-specific app that is not compatible with D.C.’s system.
“This tool will only be useful if we have widespread participation,” Nesbitt said. “So we need as many people to opt in.”