Google launches Emergency Live Video feature on Android to help you when you need it most
Providing a live look in times of need
🚑 Google has launched a new Emergency Live Video feature on Android
👀 The system is designed to provide dispatchers with a live look at your situation when you ring or text for help
📱 It works via your phone camera and can be used so they can assess a situation or help you perform life-saving steps such as CPR before help arrives
🚨 The system is available now across the USA, plus select regions of Germany and Mexico, and Google is working on a wider rollout with public safety organisations worldwide
Google has launched a clever new feature for Android that’s designed to help you when you need it most.
Called Emergency Live Video, it’s designed to kick in when you call or text the emergency services. A call dispatcher can send a request to your phone so you can livestream your location and situation so they can best help you in real time.
According to a Google blog post, the real-time view can be used to judge situations and even help dispatchers provide life-saving steps, such as administering CPR, until help arrives.
It works with “no setup required”, according to Google, and it’s up to the responder if they determine having a live view of the situation on the other end is useful. If so, they can send a request to your device so you can securely share your camera’s live video.
The Emergency Live Video system is encrypted by default, and you’re always in control of whether your video is shared or not. It isn’t shared automatically – you have to accept or deny the responder’s request – and can stop sharing instantly at any time.
This idea is the latest in a long line of recent Android SOS systems, with others including Emergency Location Service (where your phone can ping a more accurate location to a dispatcher in moments), plus Car Crash and Fall Detection (similar to Apple’s system) and Satellite SOS.
As per Google’s blog post, Emergency Live Video launches today across the USA and in select regions of Germany and Mexico. It’s supported on Android phones running Android 8 and above, and with Google Play Services.
Google also says it’s “closely working with public safety organizations around the world to expand this capability to more regions”, and it may roll out elsewhere soon.
The system may also be a useful one to implement with wearable Android XR devices, including the recently demoed Project Aura, providing first responders with a direct look at a situation via the camera on a set of glasses, for instance, that’s handed off from a phone call or text on an Android phone.
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Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.