We reported a month or two back that Apple and Google were building a coronavirus contact tracking system into iOS and Android. “The new system, which is laid out in a series of documents and white papers, would use short-range Bluetooth communications to establish a voluntary contact-tracing network, keeping extensive data on phones that have been in close proximity with each other,” The Verge reported.

Not that these two esteemed members of the tech cartel are known for serving the public good uber alles, and note to self: “At least eight global companies identified as benefitting from China’s enslavement of Muslim minorities published statements celebrating Juneteenth, an American holiday marking the end of slavery in the country.” Of course the list includes Apple and Google – as well as Abercrombie & Fitch, Amazon, FILA, General Motors, Nike, and Ralph Lauren.

 

What to speak of the fact that between their health apps and monitoring via wearables, Apple And Google: The Next Big Pharma, Forbes reported back in 2017. In fact, Google’s president of “customer solutions” sits on Merck & Co.’s board of directors. But the contact tracking apps are there for your protection and your good.

 

Uh-huh.

 

As Zero Hedge reported, “If you downloaded the latest iOS update back in May, and any following updates, then congratulations…your COVID-19 infection status will likely soon be tracked by state health officials as part of each state’s contact tracing efforts.” Ditto Android’s recent upgrade.

 

For those of us who’ve read this book before – that you can trust the tech uberlords until they decide to change the game/terms of use and not that you’d necessarily be notified of the latter or be able to opt out, here’s How to Turn Off COVID-19 Exposure Tracking and Notifications on Android and here’s How to Turn Off COVID-19 Exposure Logging and Notifications on iPhone. Although, if you’ve been experiencing a lot of dropped calls since the latest iPhone/Android update, it’s that they’re no doubt there in the background scraping information. ‘Opt-in’ or not, we’ve haven’t heard from any users who didn’t install the updates that the number of dropped calls has increased – only from those who did go through with the installation.

 

Head’s up, iPhone users: here are 7 iPhone Settings You Need To Turn Off Now.

And this just in: “An adviser to the ID2020 Alliance, which aims to bring digital identities to billions of people, has resigned over the organization’s direction on digital immunity passes and COVID-19,” Coindesk reported. “(Elizabeth Renieris’s) concerns about the technology, which highlight the trade-offs between health and privacy during the pandemic, are spelled out in a white paper published in mid-May. She says the introduction of immunity passes could interfere with people’s privacy, freedom of association, assembly, and movement.”

As Benjamin Franklin said, “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.”

Whether or not you choose to download every upgrade that Apple and Google offer is up to you – and you can disable automatic updates. It’s your call. Or should be, considering that it’s supposedly your phone, although well we know at this juncture that this is just another opportunity for Apple and Google to capture data/listen in. So all things considered, trust us, it’s not a feature: it’s definitely literally yet another bug. Onward and forward.