COVID-19
Digital Connectivity
Resources
Disclaimer: The list below illustrates our current findings. We will be updating this and all other COVID-19 related resource pages as we discover more information. The information provided here and on other pages has been taken as directly as possible from their original sources, all of which have been linked appropriately.
LGBT Tech does not endorse the companies listed below. We simply want to make as many resources as possible available to those who need them.
Data
In order to help track the spread of COVID-19, Apple has released a mobility data trends tool for Apple Maps. This tool generates data by counting the number of requests made to Apple Maps for directions. Data collected from the mobility data trends tool will not be associated with user's Apple IDs. Mobility trends reports are available to the public.
To better help heath professionals learn how to slow the spread of COVID-19, Apple and Googled have partnered to create a COVID-19 contact tracing technology via the Bluetooth technology in user's phones. This technology will be implemented in two steps:
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starting in May, Apple and Google will release APIs that enable interoperability between Android and iOS devices using apps from public health authorities. The official apps will be available on respective app stores.
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In the months after, both companies will enable a broader Bluetooth-based contact tracing platform by building this functionality into the underlying platforms.
Users will only be able to participate if they opt into the program. Both Apple and Google are working to ensure user data and privacy will not be violated or compromised.
Data for Good: COVID-19 Updates
Facebook has recently updated their Data for Good program to include resources for health professionals working to track COVID-19's movement among populations. Data for Good now includes three new types of Disease Prevention Maps - co-location maps, movement range trends, and social connectedness indexes - to help inform disease forecasting efforts and protective measures. Facebook has also included a prompt on their platform encouraging people in the US to participate in a voluntary survey from Carnegie Mellon University Delphi Research Center designed to help health researchers identify COVID-19 hotspots earlier.
Facebook & Carnegie Mellon University COVID-19 Symptom Map
As previous mentioned, Facebook featured a voluntary survey from Carnegie Mellon University Delphi Research Center on their platform to gather data on how many people reported COVID-19 and flu symptoms in given geographic locations. Facebook and Carnegie Mellon have released an interactive map based of the data they gathered from the survey as part of their Data for Good program.
