Singapore contact tracing app uses phone-to-phone Bluetooth connections
The new Singaporean app, TraceTogether, developed by the Government Technology Agency in collaboration with the Ministry of Health was launched on March 20 after eight weeks of development. The app, which can be downloaded by anyone with a Singapore mobile number and a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone, asks users to turn on Bluetooth and location services, and enable push notifications. The app works by exchanging short-distance Bluetooth signals between phones to detect other users within two metres of each other, or within five metres for 30 minutes. The app is intended to facilitate existing contact tracing efforts and fill in individuals' memory gaps. Users must give explicit consent in order to participate, and can withdraw consent at any time.
Writer: Tang See Kit and Sqil Haziq Mahmud
Publication: CNA
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/sg/app/tracetogether/id1498276074
Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=sg.gov.tech.bluetracepps/details?id=sg.gov.tech.bluetrace