Big tech continues to be the giant arm of totalitarian government:
So for a small group of apps, they will have a special "Exposure Notifications" privilege that allows for a feature called "locationless scanning" meant ONLY for COVID purposes, or so they say.
Only your state "public health" governments have access to this feature. Yeah, whatever. I learned about these Exposure Notifications when T-Mobile stuffed the Android 11 update down my throat despite my continued resistance to updating from 10, which I was already happy with.
With the app, the app uses Bluetooth to "scan nearby" for other people with the app. The only problem is - even though this "scan nearby" tech has existed for years, you chose to opt into the tech at your discretion. This COVID program, however, while it's opt-in for now, you know governments will NOT hesitate to force you to enter this program if infection rates ever go up.
This "pick up data and swap with others" feature is something a few programs and even some games out there use (DS/3DS games I think did this before). The only thing is, you didn't mind that because game consoles had very limited info on you and at worst they'd mess with your game.
Considering how much stuff that's stored on our phones, and considering how Google is far more evil than boomer companies like Nintendo, this is something we should all be worried about. This just makes government more powerful and Big Tech is following it along for the ride.
It's weird how backwards I've gone over the years. As a kid I was super tech gadget kid always wanted something crazy. I had one of those Timex watches where you could send calendar and contacts to it, despite not having any use for those features. I had a Palm Pilot. I was constantly buying computer stuff, well when I could get my hands on money (that was quite elusive). For years I went after hot new cell phones.
At some point I just hit a wall, particularly with personal electronics. I have one of the cheapest smartphones you can buy and with the way I use it, I'd miss very little if I could trade for a phone that would only call and text (with a keyboard). On my arm is a watch that shows me the time the day of the week and the date with nothing but springs and gears. The CPU in my computer came out in 2013 and it's totally fine. It's not that I quit buying gadgets and stuff, I buy loads of stuff. I really think just the mainstream gadgets quit offering anything to someone like me.
This is why boomers are bad with tech by the way.
Back when they were young they could probably operate TVs, VCRs, telephones, etc. easily - that was easy. But just like us Gen X/late millennial old farts, you eventually hit a wall, and then you regress in your acceptance of tech.
Whereas young millennials, Gen Y, and Gen Alpha embrace it, because it's been a part of their lives for ages. Just like how TVs, VCRs, etc. were a default part of our lives back in the 80s and 90s.