A Potential Apple Update Has Me Scared

Not much surprises me during this time and I'm not one to fight the advances of technology, but this next iOS update for iPhones has me a little worried.

We already know that our phones share way too much information about our personal lives. A new feature that may be coming on the next update will have COVID-19 Exposure Notification.

Basically, Apple will use Bluetooth to exchange anonymous identifiers when people are nearby to one another if the person tested positive for COVID-19. Then it goes a step further and can share a list of everyone they have come in contact with and stores it in the cloud. Our phone will alert us of the positive cases and prompt us to alert health authorities that we have been in close contact with the virus.

It sounds like a fancy tracking system to me, and I have a few problems with this. One, most people don't even know if they are carrying it, so how would they know? Two, what if we have our Bluetooth off? Not everyone is going to know how to use this or want to use it if they did.

While I think it may be amazing to have some kind of tracking mechanism, I'm nervous that this may not be as effective as they hope it will be.

I will say one update I'm glad they are making is mask recognition. Since we have been wearing masks while out in public, I'm sure you have noticed your facial recognition is not working as you would hope. This update will recognize that you are wearing your mask and quickly prompt you to enter your passcode.

What do you think about this tracing technology that Apple is bringing to us? Will you use it? Do you think it may get a little intrusive?