Aware is the Hummingbird!

Hey friends,

Our Lead Android developer Vikas Dwivedi participated to a hackathon during lockdown and came up with this idea that we decided to push further: a mobile app that protects every one of us from entering clusters of coronavirus in our cities.

Here is a quick rundown:

This coronavirus has killed more than 400,000 people with infections reaching over 7 million worldwide so far and it is now understood that we have to learn to live with the virus while numbers increase. While social distancing and stringent lockdowns have seen many countries successfully “flatten the curve”, these restrictions cannot last forever and we must adapt. In fact, social behaviors have already profoundly changed everywhere but one thing remains. Basic human survival instinct dictates our brains to ask:

Will I be safe outside my home?

Citizens are searching online sources for guidance on what they should do and where it’s safe to go. Unfortunately, not all information is based on sound science and this void has led to the occurrence of misinformation, misperceptions and myths propagated by sources that lack the credibility to provide an authoritative comment. It is therefore imperative for the governments to not just deliver medical care but also provide authentic information to all citizens which helps enable the right decisions and prevent health systems from being overburdened.

We’ve named our app COVID-19 AWARE and what it fundamentally does is that it tells you instantly whether you are in a safe zone or not, with real-time authoritative information based on the addresses of active coronavirus cases in your city.

At Antarctica Global, we put user privacy at the forefront of every app we develop. We’ve looked at all the Covid-19 related apps being currently promoted by governments and to be honest I wouldn’t feel comfortable downloading any of them on my phone by fear of being tracked or having my data collected. So we’ve thought this through and established super strict guidelines to ensure that privacy is safeguarded:

• Our system does not save location data from your device and does not share the identities of users to the governmental agency.
• The data displayed via the official source is stored locally on the user’s device in an encrypted form.
• We never collect names, phone numbers, email addresses or any other such personal information to comprise citizens’ identity.
• There is no GPS tracker, Bluetooth or beacons that are ever sent out from the device, neither does it connect to other devices in the vicinity like other Government contact tracing apps.
• We do not collect anonymized data about your device and app (e.g. device model, app version)
• We do not collect data about your WiFi or mobile network.

The app is best suited for a municipal government but works wonders as well at a state level.

We sell it at cost, no benefits.

We white label the app, can customize the homepage or loader screens as per local requirements, notably with the latest local sanitary authorities’ guidelines. So if by any chance you know of someone working in a public structure or if you yourself belong to a municipal corporation, have a look to the attached presentation and let’s get in touch promptly. In any case, I’d love your opinion on this. What do you think of data tracking to tackle the spread of the virus? Have you downloaded the app that your government has implemented? What solutions have you come across that respect data privacy and positively impact the situation?

Let us all be tiny hummingbirds!

Stay safe,

Mathieu