The state of California has asked UC to lead the expansion of a smartphone-based COVID-19 exposure notification system, which was recently tested at seven UC campuses. Under this statewide program, researchers and entrepreneurs at UC San Diego Health who developed and led the pilot program will manage broadening the program for statewide use.
The notification system, named CA Notify, will officially launch on Dec. 10. It enables people who opt in to the program to receive automatic smartphone notifications if they have had high-risk exposure to other enrolled users who have been diagnosed with COVID-19. As part of the privacy-first approach, users decide whether they want to share their own verified positive test results with the system and with other users. The technology does not store location information, and users’ identities are not shared.
For more information about the rollout of CA Notify, read the University of California Health press release.
To learn how UC campuses have been piloting CA Notify locally, visit the UC Newsroom.
Watch a video about the Google/Apple contract tracing technology used in the CA Notify app: