Help stop COVID Use the app

Fight COVID-19 with GuideSafe Exposure Notification App

August 24, 2020 Written by Cathy Butler-Burnette 2 min read
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The campus community is encouraged to download the GuideSafe COVID-19 Exposure Notification App.

Help stop COVID Use the appUA and the University of Alabama System have added another essential tool to their arsenal in the fight against COVID-19: the GuideSafe Exposure Notification App.

The app will anonymously notify you if you have been in potential close contact with someone who later reports a positive COVID-19 test result — without sharing your identity or theirs. It is a critical component to mitigating the spread of COVID-19.

Technology is used to quickly and anonymously notify people who may have been exposed to a person who has tested positive, including and especially those the person might not know directly. The app doesn’t compromise the user’s identity, and doesn’t capture details about those around you. It also offers public health authority guidance on what to do if exposed to the virus.

How it works:

  • Download the COVID-19 Exposure Notification App for free to your iPhone or Android device or by searching “GuideSafe” in the app store.
  • The app will assign your phone a random code. As you go about your day, your phone — and the phones around you — will exchange these random codes via Bluetooth.
  • Users will anonymously report their own positive COVID-19 diagnosis.
  • If someone tests positive and reports it to the app, the app will recognize that person’s code and yours have come in close contact and will alert you without identifying the person with the positive diagnosis.

The Exposure Notification App doesn’t ask for any personal information, including your name, email address or phone number, and won’t access any information on your mobile device. By using Bluetooth technology and not GPS, the app doesn’t track your location. No location data is ever stored or exchanged, and your personal information is never shared.

Use of the Exposure Notification App is voluntary, but strongly suggested and encouraged. Members of the campus community who use the app will still have to complete the mandatory UA Healthcheck symptom assessment.