Washington, Dec 1 (IANS): The Governor of the US state of Washington Jay Inslee on has announced the launch of WA Notify, a "simple, anonymous exposure notification tool" to help stop the spread of Covid-19.

By adding WA Notify to their smartphones, Washington residents will be alerted if they spent time near another WA Notify user who later tests positive for Covid-19, the announcement said on Monday, Xinhua reported.

WA Notify uses privacy-preserving technology jointly developed by Google and Apple and works without collecting or revealing any location or personal data, according to the announcement.

"Secure, private and anonymous exposure notification technology is an important tool for Washington," Inslee said. "We've deployed WA Notify in 29 languages so as many Washington residents as possible can protect themselves, their loved ones and their communities."

He also encouraged all residents to start using WA Notify immediately to work together to contain the coronavirus.

Several US states including Virginia, New York and Colorado are using this tool, the announcement said.