Women are being encouraged to use an 'important' emergency 'hack’ if they’re ever in danger, which utilises a little-known feature on phones.
The hack went viral in the wake of Sarah Everard’s disappearance, as women started sharing tips and tricks they’ve used to help them feel safe – measures, of course, that would not be necessary in an ideal world, but could help save lives.
In the years since, it has regularly resurfaced online – so much so, in fact, that the #emergencysos hashtag has seven million views on TikTok.
Knockout – a company that sells woman-designed pepper spray and personal safety rings – is one of many TikTok accounts to wax lyrical about the trick, describing it as an ‘important safety hack’.
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“You’ve probably seen Emergency SOS show up when you’re turning your phone off, but did you know that if you hold down the same buttons you use to turn your phone off for five seconds, your phone will automatically call 911 and send your location to emergency contacts?” they said.
“That’s pretty cool, right?
“Set that up in Settings > Emergency SOS, and add your emergency contacts.”
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Emergency SOS is an official safety measure from Apple, which explains on its website: “When you make a call with SOS, your iPhone will call the local emergency number automatically and share your location information with the emergency services.
“In some countries and regions, you may need to choose the service that you need. For example, in China mainland you can choose police, fire or ambulance. When SOS appears in your iPhone status bar, it means a mobile network is available for emergency calls.”
Apple goes on to explain that you can add emergency contacts, so that after an emergency call has ended, your iPhone can alert them with a text message – unless you choose to cancel this option.
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“Your iPhone will send your current location, and for a period of time after you've entered SOS mode, your emergency contacts will receive updates when your location changes,” it said.
Earlier this year, Apple also rolled out Emergency SOS via satellite, which was introduced on iPhone 14 models.
This works when no mobile or WiFi coverage is available, and is designed to allow users to make emergency calls using satellite connectivity.
Android users also have an Emergency SOS option, which can be activated by going into settings and pressing on the Advanced Features tab.
Topics: Technology, Apple
Jess Hardiman