Introducing BubblersApp
BubblersApp is a peer-based approach to personal contact management. The app combines contact management, exposure notification and a dashboard for regulations and recommendations updated in real-time. BubblersApp is a companion for and complementary to other proximity-based COVID-19 contact tracing methods. BubblersApp is currently in the design phase and we’re seeking funding. Our principles are autonomy, privacy, decentralisation, freedom, security, empowerment and here’s how we apply them to BubblersApp.
Manual tracking instead of Bluetooth-based contact tracing
With BubblersApp, we want to investigate an alternative to Bluetooth proximity-based, pseudo-anonymous contact tracing. We think that there is room for a manual, bottom-up approach that doesn’t rely on passive data tracking and storage. Additionally, proximity-based apps sometimes rely on active, and therefore trackable, GPS signals or other technical capabilities that not all devices have.
Assess your risk and make informed decisions based on your needs, vulnerabilities, or lifestyle
With BubblersApp, we want to put the control back in your hands. A one-size-fits-all approach rarely fits all; it often doesn’t even fit the majority. We want to provide you with all the information and the tools you need to assess your personal risk, based on your psychological or physiological needs. This helps you to make better, more informed decisions about if and how you want to socialise. With BubblersApp, we want to provide a tool that empowers people to make autonomous choices.
Set your individual isolation and socialisation preferences
After you’ve assessed your risk, based on your circumstances and needs, BubblersApp wants to help you set boundaries about how much you want to socialise, with whom, where, and much more. These boundaries will then be visible in the app and you can easily share them with your bubbles and beyond if you want to.
Create bubbles — groups you interact with, such as your family, your household, workplace, or closest friends
Within BubblersApp, you can use your existing social media accounts to create social bubbles. Bubbles can be your family, your household, workplace, or even a group of your closest friends. You can then use the app to keep up to date with the preferences, symptoms and interactions with your fellow bubblers.
Use existing social media and messaging accounts to notify members of your bubbles if you show symptoms, have been exposed to someone with a diagnosis or have been diagnosed yourself.
One stand-out feature of BubblersApp is the ability to create bubbles and notify people of potential symptoms, exposure or diagnosis, without requiring the recipient to have the same app installed. With BubblersApp you will be able to easily use your existing social media and messaging accounts and profiles to notify and get in touch with your bubblers.
See all the latest changes in local and national regulations on one dashboard
Laws and regulations around the coronavirus change almost daily, which makes them so hard to keep up with. Within BubblersApp, we will build a customisable dashboard with reliable and authenticated data, where you can see an overview of all the latest regulations and even see what changed since you last looked. This is yet another step to making better, more informed decisions.
All your information is stored locally on your device
BubblersApp is dedicated to data privacy and security. We believe that a manual approach to contact management and exposure notification not only contributes to more empowered citizens, who can make informed decisions based on their own lives but also assures increased security of an individual’s data. Central data storage is risky because it presents a single point of failure and is, therefore, more likely to be overwhelmed in crisis situations. In BubblersApp all data is stored locally on your device — this reduces the risk of national system failure and mass security breaches and ensures privacy while also providing continuous functionality.
Applicability beyond Coronavirus
We believe that a manual, bottom-up approach, that encourages active rather than reactive behaviour, democratises the use of these technologies and empowers marginalised groups in the current pandemic, as well as future health and natural crises. BubblersApp, and the insights generated from it, will be applicable not only in the Coronavirus pandemic but also in cases such as keeping vulnerable people, like the elderly or the immunocompromised, safe during seasonal spikes in illnesses.
To stay up to date, sign up to our mailing list at https://www.bubblersapp.org/ or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
