Colorado is preparing to launch a contact tracing app to aid the state in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and chances are iPhone users have already seen the preliminary steps of the app in motion.

iPhones were eligible for the iOS 13.7 software update on Sept. 1, which gave users the option to be a part of exposure alerts that can notify someone if they’ve been in contact with a positive case of COVID-19, AppleInsider’s tech blog reported. 

Android users can also join the contact tracing effort by downloading the ENexpress COVID-19 app.

Health officials consider contact tracing a critical tool in controlling the spread of COVID-19 and with the help of the app health officials said more people will be alerted when they need to get tested.

“Exposure Notifications is a force multiplier for testing and case investigation,” said Sarah Tuneberg, senior COVID advisor at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “It helps quickly alert people who would otherwise be unaware that they might have been exposed, and lets them know they may need to get tested and quarantine. It’s a powerful way to get people fast, accurate, and actionable information.”

So far, the app is available in Alabama, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Nevada, North Dakota, Virginia, Wyoming, and by the end of September —Colorado.

The app is a joint effort between Google and Apple to provide a basic template for public health officials to conduct contact tracing without reinventing software.

Even though the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment opted will allow the Exposure Notification Express apps use in Colorado, it doesn’t mean users are automatically part of the contact tracing. People must choose to actively participate. 

For Apple uses who have the iOS update and choose to participate in the exposure notifications, or people with Androids who download the app, the tracking concept is relatively simple.

If two people have the app on their smartphones and meet for more than 10 minutes within 6-feet of each other, their phones exchange what are called anonymous “tokens” that mark the interaction for up to 14 days. If either person tests positive for COVID-19 within that time frame, they have the option to upload their test result (from a qualified facility) and send a notification to anyone they’ve exchanged tokens with, informing them that there was a possible COVID-19 exposure.

The app gives specific health instructions to users are notified of an exposure. The instructions are tailored to geographic areas with contact information about testing centers and general health advice.

The tokens are anonymous and no identifying information is shared or collected with other users, the state, health agencies, Apple, or Google. The “tokens” are deleted within 14 days of each interaction, according to the state’s public health website.

But once information is digitized it is a matter of time before that information is used negatively against its owner, warned John Soma, the executive director of the Privacy Foundation at the University of Denver.

Despite the risks of sharing information digitally, Soma said users have to weight the cost of sharing information against the benefits.

“You have to balance the public need against the privacy, and clearly it’s needed,” Some said.

Soma recommended users always read the fine print when using applications that share personal information and realize the potential of data breaches.

“It’s no right answer, no wrong answer,” Soma said. “It’s just everybody has to come to the proper conclusion of what works for them.”