Emergency Location Service automatically shares a caller’s precise location with responders during emergency calls or SMS.
The feature uses GPS, Wi-Fi and cellular data to pinpoint location, even if calls get disconnected.
The feature uses GPS, Wi-Fi and cellular data to pinpoint location, even if calls get disconnected.
Google has introduced the Emergency Location Services in India for the Android users. With this the company aims to enhance the country’s emergency response infrastructure. Taking to the blog post. Google has confirmed that Uttar Pradesh has become the first Indian state to fully integrate the service with its 112 emergency system, enabling authorities to get accurate location data during emergencies.
SurveyThis comes after a pilot phase in Uttar Pradesh, where the feature was tested on compatible Android devices. As per Google, the system supported millions of emergency calls and messages during testing and helped emergency responders locate callers even when the calls were abruptly disconnected.
What is Emergency Location Service (ELS)?
The Emergency Location Service is a built-in safety feature on Android smartphones that automatically shares a caller’s precise location with emergency services when an emergency number such as 112 is dialled. It is designed to assist first responders in situations where callers are unable to clearly explain their location due to panic, injury or network issue. The ELS works without needing users to download any app or enable additional settings and is available on Android devices running version 6.0 and above.
How does the Emergency Location Service work?
When an emergency call or SMS is placed, ELS starts automatically and uses data from GPS, Wi-Fi and cellular networks to find out the caller’s location. This information, then, gets passed on to the authorised emergency response systems, helping police, medical teams and fire services reach the scene faster.
It is powered by Android location technology, which improves accuracy by combining multiple signals rather than relying on a single source. In many cases, the location accuracy can be narrowed down to within a short radius, even if the call gets disconnected within moments.
The company has also stated that the privacy safeguards are built into the service. Location data is shared only at times of emergency situations, sent to emergency responders, and is not collected or stored by Google.
When will it available to other locations
Google has not confirmed any timeline for this at the moment. However, we expect that the services will gradually rollout in the coming months.
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Ashish Singh
Ashish Singh is the Chief Copy Editor at Digit. He's been wrangling tech jargon since 2020 (Times Internet, Jagran English '22). When not policing commas, he's likely fueling his gadget habit with coffee, strategising his next virtual race, or plotting a road trip to test the latest in-car tech. He speaks fluent Geek. View Full Profile
