Apple, Android team up with Big Brother to track you

Smart phone companies have partnered with coronavirus contact tracing, whether a users has an iPhone or an Android. By merely flipping a switch, on a smart phone there will be contact tracing, which is called “Exposure Notification.”

However, the “COVID-19 Exposure Logging” toggle is disabled by default on iOS 13.5. That means no data is collected without the smart phone owner installing and authorizing a local health authority. (Apple and Google’s contract tracing app is an opt-in feature.)

So, just to check out whether it’s been uploaded to your phone, follow these steps:

An iPhone with iOS 13.5 and later, under settings, move to Privacy and then to Health, where you can tap the COVID-19 Exposure Logging at the top or leave it off.

COVID-19 contact-tracing, of an individual’s whereabouts, will be done by Bluetooth, rather than a more traditional GPS tracking.

Those who might be just a bit apprehensive to have your whereabouts tracked by any governmental agency, including the Center for Disease Control, may choose to delete the exposure logs manually at any time. Go to the bottom of the setting.

If one wishes more information on COVID-19 tracing devices 9TO5Mac is a good source online.

I learned of this from a friend in Missouri who passed along a video outlining the fact that contact-tracing was uploaded to my iPhone without my knowledge. It’s a bit like Big Brother operating in “1984” as an Orwellian agent.

Whatever, there are a number of ways to protect yourself moving forward. An individual wishing to communicate with others could return to the landline phones (once considered obsolete) which society had grown accustomed to until smart phones invaded our social space. Or, we could speak to one another in person, which is difficult when we are living in a transient mobile society.

Or, just relax and allow our smart phones to follow us and record who we come in contact with each hour of each day.

It’s amazing what a microorganism has done to a vibrant economy, a robust society and the lengths science is reaching to make sure we do not come in contact with COVID-19 carriers.