Security News > 2020 > May > European Virus Tracing Apps Highlight Battle for Privacy
As governments race to develop mobile tracing apps to help contain infections, attention is turning to how officials will ensure users' privacy.
Traditional methods involving in-person interviews of patients are time consuming and labor intensive, so countries want an automated solution in the form of smartphone contact tracing apps.
The tech giants are releasing a software interface so public health agencies can integrate their apps with iPhone and Android operating systems, and plan to release their own apps later.
The EU's executive Commission warned that a fragmented approach to tracing apps hurt the fight against the virus and called for coordination as it unveiled a digital "Toolbox" for member countries to build their apps with.
Despite announcing plans to back European initiatives or develop its own app, Spain's intricate plan for rolling back one of the world's strictest confinements doesn't include a tracing app at all.