Northern Ireland phone users may have noticed the appearance of a new COVID-19 ‘exposure logging’ tool.
It has appeared on smartphones, including Apple and Android, without users installing it.
However, this is not the NHS contact tracing app, despite many people assuming that it is. It’s intended to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The software can be found in the settings section of both Android phones and iPhones as part of an update of their operating systems.
The ‘exposure notification’ tool is switched off by default. And it can’t be turned on at all until you actually get an authorised app to enable it.
It allows apps created by public health authorities to work more accurately on both Android and iPhones. The tool will work in conjunction with the future government app, which is still under construction.
Phone users have expressed concern at the sudden appearance of the logging tool and a number of social media posts highlighted fears.
If you have an iPhone, you can find it by going into ‘settings’, then ‘privacy’ and then ‘health’.
