Boston: Scientists, including one of Indian origin, are working on a smartphone app that could let people know if they have come in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, while protecting their privacy.
The app being developed by researchers, including Mayank Varia from Boston University in the US, uses Bluetooth-enabled cell phones to notify a person if they have come into close proximity with someone infected with SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
To work efficiently, the app requires many people to use it, whether they have had COVID-19 or not, the researchers said. The app transmits and captures random Bluetooth signals via nearby cell phones that also have the app installed, they said.