Coronavirus has changed the complexion of our lives and how we perceive safety in the last few months. This has prompted Google and Apple to release their COVID-19 contact tracing Exposure Notification APIs specifically for their operating environments. This has left Huawei high and dry since they cannot take advantage of the Google Play Services. But Huawei, like all times, has bailed itself out with an in-house contact tracing API which protects its users from the volatile environment out there.
Called as the Huawei Contact Shield API, it gives developers of such applications access to Huawei devices for accurate contact tracing. The framework comes courtesy of the update to HMS Core, Huawei’s version of Google Play Services. The first traces of this framework were found in the changelog update of Huawei Mobile Service Core version 4.1.0.301. XDA Developers say that Huawei has not yet officially announced this API, but it looks imminent.
The API works in a similar manner to Google and Apple’s offering. It makes use of the Bluetooth Low Energy for detection of nearby devices to exchange data and record the contact. All this is done with strict privacy norms in place for Huawei devices. No personal data is collected in this process.
This updated HMS Core version according to Huawei promises the same level of protection and privacy as Google’s API. The changelog clearly mentions that it lets users upload anonymous identifiers to the cloud and also the flexibility to allow diagnosis results. It even mentions that only authorized developers by the government can access the Contact Shield APIs for developing apps.
