Google has removed Android’s COVID-19 exposure notification settings

Ben Schoon | Nov 3 2023 - 6:33 am PT

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, “Exposure Notifications” were added to Android and iOS to help users know if they were exposed to the virus. But now, that feature is fading away.

In 2020, Google and Apple worked together to rapidly roll out COVID-19 exposure notifications that were interoperable between Android and iOS. Using Bluetooth, phones would be able to track when they were near each other, and then, using an app, users who ended up testing positive with COVID-19 could anonymously inform anyone they had been around in public. The feature rolled out to Android in May 2020.

In theory, it was a fantastic idea, but it was met with harsh skepticism (as many COVID-19 initiatives were) by the general public, and it was also hurt by the exceptionally slow state-by-state rollout of the apps needed to actually make the network useful.

Now, Google has removed COVID-19 exposure notification settings from Android.

The change was first spotted in beta in mid-October, but 9to5Google can now confirm it’s been removed in the stable track, meaning it should no longer be appearing for virtually all Android users. The change sets in with the latest Google Play Services update but first appeared in Play Services 23.42 (the current version is 23.43). Previously, the COVID-19 settings appeared under Settings > Google, but these settings have simply disappeared at this point, as pictured below.

The timing here makes sense – if anything it’s a little late, in fact – as the COVID-19 pandemic health emergency has come to an end (though the disease persists), and most US States have apparently shut down operations for exposure notifications anyway.

In May, Apple notified iPhone users that they could disable exposure notifications and delete data.

From purely an engineering standpoint, this feature and its rollout were incredible, especially given the pace at which was developed. But the slow and confusing rollout led to minimal adoption – personally, I never received a single exposure notification throughout the whole pandemic.