iOS 13.5 Beta 3 Has Toggle to Enable COVID-19 Exposure Notifications, Skips Face ID When Wearing Mask

The new iOS 13.5 beta seeded to developers today includes a toggle that allows testers to enable COVID-19 exposure notifications.

Here's what happens when you toggle the feature on:

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Once enabled, users’ devices will regularly send out a beacon via Bluetooth that
includes a privacy-preserving identifier — basically, a string of random numbers that aren’t tied
to a user's identity and change every 10-20 minutes for additional protection. Other phones will
be listening for these beacons and broadcasting theirs as well. When each phone receives
another beacon, it will record and securely store that beacon on the device.


At least once per day, the system will download a list of beacons that have been verified as
belonging to people confirmed as positive for COVID-19 from the relevant public health
authority. Each device will check the list of beacons it has recorded against the list downloaded
from the server. If there is a match between the beacons stored on the device and the positive
diagnosis list, the user may be notified and advised on steps to take next.
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You can access the toggle from the Settings > Privacy > Health menu and learn more about how it works here.

Another change found in the iOS 13.5 beta is the ability for Face ID to detect if you are wearing a mask. If you are, it will skip straight to passcode entry, saving you some time when unlocking your device.

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