Our iPhone is capable of warning us about certain emergency situations where a timely alert can make all the difference. From earthquake warnings to early tornado alerts or other adverse weather phenomena, it's very important that these alerts are as reliable as possible. And there's one setting that can achieve this.
Better Accuracy and Fewer False Positives
We always talk about functions that we hope we never need, but it's good to have them there. When we talk about the alerts that our iPhone can send us, there are five categories. Five types of warnings that, depending on where we are, will be issued by different public organizations and will warn us of different situations. These are:
- Governmental Alerts: Issued by the government of the country or region.
- Vital Security Alerts: About imminent threats to security or life.
- Weather Alerts: Warnings of extreme conditions.
- AMBER Alerts: In response to critical missing person situations.
- Public Safety Alerts: Crucial information for the community.
These alerts, usually accompanied by a distinctive sound that is very difficult to miss, are activated by default. In some countries, in fact, they cannot be deactivated. We can check that, indeed, we have these notifications activated within Settings > Notifications > Emergency Alerts.
It is also here where we find the setting to improve their reliability. It's an option available from iOS 17: Local Awareness. A setting that uses the device's approximate location to improve the timeliness, accuracy, and reliability of alerts, according to Apple. If it's compatible in our region, we will see that it appears in the emergency alerts section and we can activate it.
Thanks to this local awareness, we significantly increase the probability of receiving relevant and timely alerts, avoiding the false positives that could lead us to receive alerts that don't correspond to us. In emergency situations, every second is vital, and this improvement in emergency alerts is a clear example of how technology can be an essential ally in enhancing our safety.
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