To Track Pandemic, Facebook to Survey Users About Coronavirus Symptoms

To assistance track the coronavirus, Facebook will survey Usa users on whether they're feeling any symptoms related to the affliction.

Starting today, the company will roll out the voluntary survey at the top of Facebook News Feed. None of the responses will be sent directly to Facebook; the information will be shared with health researchers in their attempt to place new virus hotspots.

"The survey—run past Carnegie Mellon University Delphi Research Center—will exist used to generate new insights on how to respond to the crisis, including heat maps of self-reported symptoms," Facebook said in a blog post on Monday. "This information can assist health systems plan where resources are needed and potentially when, where and how to reopen parts of club."

Specifically, the information may exist helpful in determining where ventilators are needed, and whether certain cities or U.s. states should tighten or loosen shelter-in-identify orders, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a related mail service.

"Since experiencing symptoms is oftentimes a precursor to going to the infirmary or getting more seriously ill, if this works, it can produce a weekly map that may help more than accurately forecast how many cases hospitals volition run across in the days alee, also as an early indicator of where the outbreak is growing and where the curve is being successfully flattened," he added.

The survey will likewise exist conducted without knowing your identity. So even though the pop-up for the questionnaire will contain your name, Facebook says it isn't sharing data nigh who yous are with health researchers. Only a random number ID will be assigned to your survey results.

For at present, the survey is only being fabricated available for some users in the United states. "(But) if the results are helpful, we'll brand similar surveys bachelor in other parts of the world," the visitor added.

Disease Prevention Maps

The social network has already been trying to help researchers track the coronavirus past offering them access to "disease prevention maps," which can show how millions of Facebook users are moving throughout the world, and thus potentially spreading the illness.

Map to show probability rate of contact among Facebook users in the Us.

This may sound creepy, but researchers are simply getting an amass view of move beyond cities or counties, which is proving to exist useful. "Nosotros heard from them how valuable this information tin exist in responding to COVID-19, and today we're announcing new tools to back up their piece of work," Facebook added in today's blog post.

The new disease-prevention maps can now testify the probability people in i area of a country volition come in contact with some other, which could help predict new hotspots for the virus. Whether people are staying at dwelling can also exist tracked past calculating the full corporeality of motion Facebook users are making beyond counties in California or provinces in Italy.

An boosted feature will let researchers see how far friendships can extend across a land.

Map on how far Facebook friendships can extend in the US.

The data-sharing is similar to what Google is doing; final week, the company began borer its location-tracking features to also help researchers see whether people are observing social distancing rules beyond 131 countries. To preserve people's privacy, Google is stripping away individual details, and offering merely line graphs, showing the amass increase or decrease in foot traffic for places like retail shops, transportation hubs, and residential homes.

In Google'due south example, the visitor has made the data accessible to anyone. Withal, Facebook has decided to simply share the disease-prevention maps with nonprofits and health organizations.

"Facebook and the wider engineering manufacture can — and must — go along to find innovative ways to help wellness experts and authorities answer to this crisis, without trading off privacy," the social network added. "We will go along to be transparent about our approach and consult with policymakers, regulators and other privacy experts about our practices."

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Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/social-networking/36787/to-track-pandemic-facebook-to-survey-users-about-coronavirus-symptoms

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