Governments have to decide whether to scrap their own COVID-19 contact tracing apps in favor of tech built by Apple and Google. Here's what's at stake.

Reuters

• Apple and Google are building contact tracing technology that uses Bluetooth in people's smartphones to track the spread of COVID-19 — and it's being embraced by a growing list of countries worldwide.
• A handful of European countries have announced they'll use tech from Apple and Google, but others like France, the UK, and several US states favor government-run contact tracing technology.
• Apple and Google's tech is meant to be integrated with government apps — but many governments' contact tracing tech is incompatible with privacy promises made by Apple and Google.
• Apple and Google's technology has an advantage: It's much easier to deploy on iPhone and Android than other government-run apps.
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Apple and Google are partnering to build contact tracing tech that uses people's smartphones to track the spread of COVID-19 — and while the technology won't be released until May, governments across the world are already committing to use it.

The technology from Apple and Google would harness Bluetooth in people's smartphones to detect when they come in close contact with someone who's tested positive for coronavirus. It's meant to supplement the work of human contact tracers, which are already being hired by government health agencies across the US.

But multiple countries and at least three US states were already building their own contact tracing apps, and will now be forced to choose whether to abandon those projects in favor of the technology from Apple and Google. In Europe, at least four countries have embraced Apple and Google's technology, in part because Apple refused to make changes to iPhone settings that would have made third-party contact tracing apps run better.

The debate over which contact tracing technology to use hinges on questions of privacy and data ownership. Here's a breakdown of the decision faced by governments across the globe.