What:
SixFeet is an app I am working on with my friend Harsh Singhal, and is currently in production and should be available on the App Store in a matter of days. We were both stuck inside in our respective homes, and did not want to leave because we didn’t know where people with the virus had been.
How:
The app records the location of users over the course of 3 weeks, and highlights where infected users have been, identifying areas where people should avoid. No personal information is ever asked for, so users do not have to worry about any privacy concerns whatsoever.
Contributions:
I was responsible for the qualitative and quantitative research, visual design and content writing.
The Problem
The the only purpose the data collected on COVID-19 serves right now is to scare people. The fidelity of the data goes only as small as numbers per county because it is just gathered as individuals are tested, and is not user-driven.
So we polled Instagram, and asked people if location tracking would be an issue. But 95% of the respondents answered that they would not mind, and they would want to know the truth because it would make them feel safe, and they would love to help others by sharing their location data.
Users’ health and location data is anonymously entered to determine potential virus hotspots.
The larger the number of infected users who visit any particular location, the larger the hotspot becomes.
The hotspots stay visible for 3 days because the virus has been discovered to have live on a surface for 3 days.
A notification will be sent to uses when they are nearing and when they enter a hotpot so they can use precaution and make sure not to touch any objects that may be infected with COVID-19.
Security is paramount when dealing with users’ location and health data, so we do not ask for any of users’ information, as to not risk any sort of privacy or legal breach.
The Solution
SixFeet is designed to help you stay safe by providing information about potentially infected areas. SixFeet provides a better picture while maintaining anonymity.
Personal Mode shows user if they’ve been to
any hotspots.
Illustrates travel over the past three weeks, the longest the disease is known to last. If users self-report they have been tested and now know they have the disease, anywhere they have been for the last three weeks will be included in the data anonymously. A timeline feature will be added soon to allow users to know how long the disease has been present in certain areas.