Facebook will now ask if users are safe in case of disasters

Facebook will introduce functionality that checks whether a person is safe in the event of a major disaster. Various location data are used to determine whether someone is in the disaster area.

If a major disaster occurs, users of the new Facebook tool Safety Check will receive a notification asking if the person concerned is safe. The user can indicate that he or she is safe and not even in the affected area. In this way, Facebook wants to let relatives know that a person is okay. In addition, others can be marked as ‘safe’ and it can be investigated who else is in the disaster area.

Facebook will use multiple location data. There is no mention of whether users should sign up or sign out of the service. The company looks at the place of residence that is indicated, the place where the internet is used and the most recent location where a person has been. The latter only happens if the user has opted in for the Nearby Friends option. Facebook claims to have already done tests and that the reactions were positive.

There are snags to the Facebook notification system. The past shows that mobile networks do not or hardly function in the event of disasters due to overload. It is also unknown what is classified as a major disaster and in which continents the tool is available. The feature should initially be available for Android, iOS and desktops.