Canary’s iPhone ‘Safety Button’ silently provides 911 with an accurate location

Hold down the Canary Safety Button to alert emergency services. Image: Canary

Canary, maker of connected home security cameras, has announced a smartphone ‘Safety Button’ to give iOS users additional assurance outside of the home.

Similar to the existing SOS feature on iPhones, this new feature is designed to automatically contact local police, while also sending them a location within 5 seconds, which is a huge improvement from the “over 6 minutes” that an average 911 call requires to determine “only 50–300 meter accuracy,” according to Canary.

The ‘Safety Button’ (powered by Noonlight) doesn’t even require the user to speak, they simply need to hold down the button for coordinates — with an accuracy of approximately 5 meters (16 feet) —  to be sent to emergency services.

Once feeling safe, the button can be released and a pin-code entered, however, if the button is let go and no pin entered, help is on the way. The company notes that police are sent to every situation, however, if an ambulance or fire truck is needed, then they require a text or voice message.

The feature, currently only available to iOS users in the US, would require an app update and Canary Membership, as well as setting up a Noonlight account.

Apple recently announced a similar feature arriving with the iOS 12 update, as part of the company’s mission to provide emergency services “the best available technology” to improve response time by securely sharing location data. NVG

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