Apple to let iPhones use contact tracing without installing app

The Covid Tracker Ireland app used for contact tracing. Apple first launched the contact-tracing system with Google in May. The initial version required users to download a public health app, an extra step that potentially limited user adoption. This latest update, which Apple and Google call ‘Phase 2’, skips that step. — Reuters

Apple Inc on Aug 26 released an early version of its iPhone software that lets users opt-in to the company’s Covid-19 contact-tracing system without installing a public health app.

The beta update, known as version iOS 13.7, is available to a group of testers who have signed up to try out software updates before they are released to the public.