Tracking COVID-19 Exposure In Colorado: Android And iPhone Users Will Be Asked To Opt In To New Service

(CBS4) -- There's a new service to fight the spread of COVID-19 in Colorado. It tracks your cell phone and notifies you if you've been near someone who tested positive for COVID-19.

The state health department worked with Google and Apple to create a system that uses Bluetooth on people's phones to collect "tokens" when in contact with other phones -- like while sitting on a crowded bus.

Those tokens can be uploaded if someone tests positive. That information is then sent to people who were around the infected person.

Your personal information is never given out.

The health department says even a little bit of participation helps. It's easy to sign up -- iPhone and Android users will get push notifications on Sunday about opting in for the service. It must be turned on in order to collect the data.

Android users can download CO Exposure Notifications on the Google Play store.

iPhone users can enable CO Exposure Notifications in their phone settings by finding Settings > Exposure Notifications > United States > Colorado.