Editing 2342: Exposure Notification

{{incomplete|Created by a BOT THAT RECENTLY HAD CLOSE CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS NOT TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

During the coronavirus pandemic, several apps were developed to implement {{w|digital contact tracing}} by using one's location along with the location of others, or locationless device proximity detection, to notify someone if they had been potentially exposed to COVID-19. This normally only works in retrospect, as infected people are isolated, and the contacts notified after the positive test result. In this comic, a different type of app has been developed. Instead of notifying someone if they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, the app produces notifications if they have been exposed to someone who has '''not''' tested positive. (Perhaps it also notifies the user if they have been exposed to a person who has tested positive, but if this is the case, it hasn't happened to the user in question yet.) This is much less useful because it is not possible to tell whether anyone has actually been near anyone who was infected, but rather annoys the user with excessive notifications.  Also, being exposed to someone who has not tested positive is not good news, because it is still possible that the person might have COVID-19; it is simply less bad than being exposed to someone who has tested positive, but still worse than not being exposed to anyone.  

Socially and psychologically, people being close to each other normally is a positive behavior.  For a stereotypical human, it could be considered a sad sign of our times if you needed an app to tell you whether you did right in social interactions and compliment you.

 

It is unclear whether this app genuinely hacks into strangers' medical records to identify whether they have been tested for Covid-19 - normally considered a significant privacy violation and a breach of medical and informatic laws - or whether it just indicates that the person you're coming into contact with isn't currently in a healthcare facility having a test taken (with the proviso in the terms and conditions that it must not be used in a healthcare facility).  Patient's medical histories can be shared with public health professionals to manage outbreaks, but only in tightly regulated ways to protect privacy of patients.

 

Alternatively, this app is using self-reported data (as other contact tracing apps do) about positive cases, and identifying whether the people near you are in that database.

{{w|Light-on-dark color scheme| Dark mode}} is a common feature in apps which allows users the options to have a darker user interface. The title text, however, refers to dark mode not in the sense of the color scheme but rather that receiving notifications bearing the bad news that you have been exposed to COVID-19 is "dark." Because nobody likes his current app, Randall decides to give in and create a dark mode, which would make his app much more desirable for users.