It's one of Android's lesser-known features, but it literally can save your life. The option for add emergency information has been present in the operating system for several years, but many users still do not use it, either because they are unaware of its existence or because they do not really know how to configure this utility.
Therefore, today we want to explain to you everything you need to know about emergency information on android. What it is for and how you can add it to your mobile.
Adding emergency information gives you the ability to recover your mobile phone if it gets lost
What is the purpose of adding emergency information to an android cellphone?
Virtually all mobile phones on the market with recent versions of Android include the option for add emergency information. As the name suggests, this function serves the purpose of store personal data about us, so that other people can access it in an emergency and need assistance.
Among the data that can be archived, we find medical information such as our blood type, allergies, medications, or our home address - the latter is particularly useful in case of loss of the device -. You can also add other medical notes and show if we are or not organ donors.
In addition, the emergency information also allows us to select emergency contacts to call in case we are unable to call ourselves. Furthermore, in the case of some models such as the Google Pixel, this function also includes tools such as automatic detection of road accidents, although this is only available in some regions.
All of the above information can be configured for be visible even when the device is locked, so that you don't need to unlock it to access emergency data.
Add your emergency information
Now that's clear of what it is and what it takes to add emergency information to an Android mobile, it's time to do it on our devices. First, however, it should be noted that this information is stored privately on the device and are not shared with third parties. Therefore, you will need to reconfigure your medical information every time you switch mobile phones. That said, the steps to follow - they are very similar in the vast majority of Android phones on the market - are the following:
- Open the "System Settings" application on your device and go to the "About phone" section.
- Look for the "Emergency Information" section and tap on it.
- Access each of the menu sections to add your emergency data.
- When done, you can select the 'Show with locked device' option if you want other people to be able to access your emergency contacts and medical information when needed, right from the lock screen.
That's all. Now i your emergency data is already available in so that other people can access it if necessary. To do this, just go to the phone lock screen and tap the «Emergency» button. There you will see all the information you added in the previous process, as well as i contacts to call in case of emergency.
