BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) — “We thought about building an app that's going to help identify the primary and secondary exposure of people who have gone sick with COVID-19,” said Varchasvi Shankar .
The president and CEO of the Bloomfield Hills-based technology company V2SOFTbuilds apps for customers in health care, the auto industry, and nonprofits locally and nationally.
They want to help with the COVID-19 pandemic with ViralTRAK -- a real-time app keeping the public informed about exposure using cell phone location data.
“If everybody has the app installed it keeps tracking who might come in contact as the primary contact,” Shankar said.
For example, if someone works at an auto plant and a person tests positive on the other side of the building, the app sends out an alert that you have been exposed.
"This is an amazing app that's going to help bring awareness," Shankar added. "I've been exposed or I haven't been exposed because right now there is no way for us to know this."
As for privacy concerns, the company takes precautions.
“We don't collect any of their name, any of their addresses – it's just a phone number, which comes into the system, which gets encrypted,” Shankar said.
The process is simple-downloading, and takes less than thirty seconds, and it begins tracking.
“We all have a responsibility to give back to the community,” Shankar said.
Shankar is contacting Gov. Whitmer's office to see if they can help the state of Michigan.
The app Viraltraklaunches on Monday, April 13.
