Contact tracing apps may not be reliable, research finds

"The bluetooth technology being used by contact tracing apps may be less accurate than initially thought, particularly on public transport, according to new research.
A new study from researchers at Trinity College Dublin looked at the use of contact tracing apps on public transport and also examined the Google and Apple exposure notification API (application programming interface) on which the apps are based.
The HSE’s contact tracing app, expected to be released in the near future, uses Google and Apple technology, as do the apps created for Switzerland, Italy and Germany.
“We carried out an independent ‘due diligence’ analysis of the Google-Apple API on Android handsets. This API will be used in the Irish contact tracing app, and is already being used by the Swiss, Italian and German apps,” said Prof Doug Leith, from the school of computer science and statistics at Trinity..." Lire la suite