Google has launched a new emergency feature for Android phones Emergency live videowhich finally lets you share videos from your smartphone camera directly with senders.

Quick response and accurate details are important to help people during an emergency. However, emergencies are also extremely stressful, and it can be difficult to describe what’s going on when you’re on the scene – especially if you’re untrained. Emergency live video should help eliminate these problems by allowing dispatchers and first responders to see for themselves.

The Emergency Live Video rollout began on December 10, and the new feature is installed on Android phones with Android 8 or higher and Google Play Services installed. It is currently available in the US and parts of Germany and Mexico, with plans to expand to additional regions.

How to use Emergency Live Video

No setup required

Credit: Google

Emergency Live Video is designed to be as easy to use as possible. In fact, you don’t need to do anything – during a call to emergency services, the responder will determine whether live video will be helpful and send a request to your device. You will see a pop-up on your screen asking if you want to accept. That’s all there is to it.

Google says the feature is encrypted by default and that users are always in control of whether a video is shared, with the ability to stop the feed at any time. This should help alleviate privacy concerns.

Google keeps adding emergency features

Emergency Live Video joins a growing list of really useful emergency features on Android devices, including:

• Emergency SOS: Lets you press your power button multiple times to trigger calls, location sharing, and audio recording.
• Emergency Location Services: Provides more accurate location data to first responders.
• Safety Check: You can schedule a time to check in with your phone. If you don’t respond, Safety Check will share your location with emergency contacts and take emergency action.
• Car crash detection: Automatically detect serious car accidents and call for help if you are irresponsible.
• Crisis Alerts: Provides alerts and information during crisis situations, such as earthquakes or wildfires. Information appears in Google apps like Maps and Search.

Unfortunately, not all these features are available on all Android phones. Car crash detectionin particular, remains exclusive to Google Pixels.

That said, Google has been slowly expanding the capabilities of its personal safety app for years, and in 2023, many of those features were brought to the Pixel Watch. This gives us hope that Google will further enhance personal security in the future.