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In short: Google has now confirmed the launch of its Emergency Locator Service (ELS) for Android in the United States. The ELS is designed to ensure that the most accurate location information about Android device owners is shared with emergency services when needed. As part of the announcement, Google confirmed which companies were helping with deployment in the US and detailed security and privacy measures in place to protect device owners.
Context: Despite US support for this service that is online only, the service has been in place for a long time. For example, ELS began its deployment in Europe in 2016. Since then, it has gradually expanded to more regions and regions. Google has confirmed that it is already operational in fourteen countries and has already proven its effectiveness in improving response times. For the United States, Google has confirmed that T-Mobile and RapidSOS are providing service support, while residents of the US Virgin Islands are covered by a partnership with West. While this obviously means that T-Mobile's customers are now covered by their carrier, this does not necessarily mean that non-T-Mobile customers are not covered. As RapidSOS is an IP-based solution, it will take into account any individual device owner who belongs to an area covered by RapidSOS, regardless of the operator.
Impact: Needless to say, the idea here is to ensure that lives can be saved and that assistance is provided as needed more quickly than before. This is not only in seconds faster (which can make the difference), but also to account for less obvious situations, such as when people struggle to regain their position due to the situation providing their location due to language difficulties. It is also important to note that this service does not require any action on the part of the user, Google confirming that 99% of Android devices support this feature at the device level. As a result, when an emergency call is made (and only when – one of the privacy protections), the device transmits a more accurate location to the emergency department, not only by using GPS, but also mobile networks. Fi data, and even device sensors. With Google comparing the process to the one currently used by Google Maps. As part of the privacy measures, Google also confirmed that the data is not stored or even shared with Google's servers. This also occurs between the device and the emergency services, and again, only when the device recognizes that an emergency call has been initiated.
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