PORTLAND, Ore — Oregon's COVID-19 contact tracing app was activated by mistake and will be turned off, state health officials said.
iPhone users got a notification on Friday asking if they wanted to get alerts about whether they may have been exposed to COVID-19.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) said Apple accidentally turned on the app, known as OR Notify. Users weren't supposed to get that notification yet because the app is still under development.
OHA partnered with Oregon State University for a pilot program of the app that started mid-November and ended Thursday. The health authority will be assessing the results to determine when to roll it out.
In October, Dr. Timothy Menza with OHA said a team in Oregon had already been working with Google and Apple for months to develop a contact tracing app.
He explained that people must opt in to be able to anonymously notify close contacts via Bluetooth. He added that privacy is a cornerstone of such exposure notification systems.
As of early December, the app was expected to launch sometime in January.
