The new Exposure Notifications Express spec is baked into iOS 13.7 which emerged this week and will appear in an Android update due later this month.
This is not, repeat not, pervasive Bluetooth surveillance. The tool requires users to opt in, although public health authorities can use the tool to send notifications suggesting that residents do so.
Those who choose to participate agree to have their device use Bluetooth to search for other nearby opted-in devices, with an exchange of anonymised identifiers used to track encounters. If a user tests positive, and agrees to notify authorities, other users will be told that they are at risk and should act accordingly.
Oh the joys of large centralised tech companies… Just not so easy to implement on decentralised and peer-to-peer systems and networks.
See COVID-tracing without an app? There’s an iOS and Android update for that
Google and Apple’s new ‘Exposure Notifications Express’ gives health authorities a shortcut