Massachusetts ‘MassNotify’ Android app auto-installed, but COVID exposure alerts are not enabled [Updated] - 9to5Google

According to many user reports over the past day, MassNotify — the Massachusetts exposure notifications app  — was automatically installed on Android phones without warning.

“We have been working with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to allow users to activate the Exposure Notifications System directly from their Android phone settings.

This functionality is built into the device settings and is automatically distributed by the Google Play Store, so users don’t have to download a separate app.

COVID-19 Exposure Notifications are enabled only if a user proactively turns it on.

With the Massachusetts MassNotify app launch, the Exposure Notifications Express system was updated to leverage this automatic distribution so users can more quickly enable/disable alerts directly from the system Settings app.

Rather, Massachusetts is using the “Exposure Notifications Express” system that Google and Apple announced last September.

You can tell Massachusetts is using Exposure Notifications Express given the longer manual setup/download process.

After selecting where you are in Settings > Google > COVID-19 Exposure Notifications > Add another region, states (like California) that built their own app have it directly surfaced to the user.

With the fact that Massachusetts is using Exposure Notifications Express in mind, users over the past 24 hours have reported finding MassNotify installed on their device without any prior interaction.

(Here is the Google Play listing.) They then proceeded to find it installed from the settings app list — again, it does not have an icon in the launcher or in-app experience by design.