Apple-Google Virus-Tracking Rules Put Apps in a Privacy Bind

From France to Australia to North Dakota, government apps designed to help authorities track and slow the spread of Covid-19 are struggling to accomplish their goals because of restrictions on data collection built into smartphones by Apple Inc. and Google.

That’s leaving public health officials with few options but to use a system designed by Apple and Google themselves. The tech companies say their tools preserve privacy and work seamlessly on devices used by some 3 billion people.

Here’s the rub: Those same privacy features lock authorities out of collecting information they can use to track the broader spread of ...