Apple recently rolled out a new coronavirus screening tool website.
You click through symptoms you are having, your travel, and other details to determine if you should ask for a COVID-19 test.
I set out to review the Terms of Use to understand what kind of privacy the website offers.
Before I got there, however, I came across a series of messages to hackers (both white hat and black hat) and cybercriminals who might want to attack the site.
In Apple's COVID-19 site Terms of Use, it specifically warns against the following:
What kind of impact will this have on the COVID-19 screening site's cybersecurity? Any at all?
Now, onto the original question here, about the privacy of this site.
Apple developed this site in collaboration with the White House, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
So that had me wondering: what happens to the information I enter into the website? Does the government suddenly find out who thinks they may have the coronavirus?
Apple says on its main page that it will not track your answers or share them with the CDC, as you see here:
I clicked the "Learn more..." link to, yes, learn more. And here is what it says:
"Use of Data. Apple will collect certain limited information to help Apple improve the COVID-19 Website. This will not include any data that may personally identify you and will not be tied to your Apple ID. Unless you provide your express consent within the COVID-19 Website, no other information will be collected or used by Apple and your information will not be shared outside Apple. At all times, any information received by Apple will be treated in accordance with your consent and Apple's Privacy Policy, which can be viewed at: www.apple.com/privacy."
So it sounds like you maintain control over your data, unless you choose to give that control away. This is in line with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). We spoke recently with cyber attorney Jordan Fischer about the cyber and privacy law landscape on the SecureWorld podcast:
The Apple coronavirus screening tool is here. It also offers updated best practices around the coronavirus.
To do your coronavirus self screen, simply tap "Start Screening."