Google to track coronavirus with smartwatches

Since the start of the pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS–CoV–2 Many companies have tried to help create vaccines and are trying to control the spread of the virus. In the latter case, Apple and Google have helped by creating an interoperable protocol that allows mobile phones to be used to track potential contacts.

Now the Mountain View company is taking it a step further and developing an update for Google Play services, which will also allow exposure notifications to be used on smartwatches.

More than 130 companies collaborate to help track coronavirus

Google previously announced in August that it was in talks with numerous companies to have Wear OS smartwatches serve as people trackers to help locate potential users exposed to the virus.

For this, the Bluetooth SIG Exposure Notification Working Group (ENWG) was established, with more than 130 members. Last month, a project was published to make the technology compatible with sending locators and to help trace an infected contact.

The idea was to allow a device equipped with bluetooth to act as a tracker, without having to be connected to the Internet, which happens to many watches.

Well, in the latest update of the Google Play Services app, v20.50.14, we’ve seen strings of code referencing this feature, so it’s possible that Google will officially announce it in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, we remind you that the best thing to do is to install the COVID-19 tracking app on your phone and activate it correctly.