The California Department of Public Health (CPDH) and the California Department of Technology (CDT) are partnering with UC San Diego and UC San Francisco to pilot an app that could inform individuals when they may have been exposed to COVID-19.

Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash

The mobile app, called Exposure Notification Express, has been designed by Apple and Google to use bluetooth technology to confidentially alert individuals when they are in close proximity to someone who has tested positive for the virus, provided that the individual has shared their test results with the app.

Faculty, staff, and the student body at both UC San Diego and UC San Francisco will test the app in a month-long trial period beginning at the end of September.

While the app does not collect data or share user information, individuals would need to opt-in to use the app if and when it becomes available to the public, according to CDT Director Amy Tong.

The Exposure Notification Express app will serve as a necessary supplement to California’s COVID-19 testing system, which failed to register roughly 750,000 positive tests back in August.