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iOS 12 Will Automatically Share Your iPhone Location With 911 Centers (phonedog.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the hands-free dept.

Apple has revealed a new feature that's coming to the next version of iOS. With iOS 12, iPhone owners will be able to automatically share their location data when they dial 911. PhoneDog reports: Apple explains that it'll use RapidSOS's IP-based data pipeline to securely share an iPhone owner's HELO (Hybridized Emergency Location) info when they call 911 call centers. This system will integrate with many 911 call centers' existing software. HELO data estimates a 911 caller's location data using cell towers as well as features like GPS and Wi-Fi access points. Apple began using HELO in 2015, but by utilizing RapidSOS's tech, too, it should make it much easier and faster for a 911 call center to locate a caller.

6 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Didn't we all assume this was already happening? by brainchill · · Score: 2

    I mean, am I the only one that didn't assume that calling 911 would already be tripping and sending GPS data?

  2. Re:Didn't we all assume this was already happening by OrangeTide · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Nope, only the NSA gets that information today.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  3. This might have saved the kid in the mini-van. by olsmeister · · Score: 2

    You know, the one that got stuck under the seat and called 911 but they couldn't find him and he eventually suffocated. Of course I have no idea whether he was using an iPhone or not, but there's at least a pretty decent chance he was.

  4. Re:Didn't we all assume this was already happening by viperidaenz · · Score: 2

    Because you'd get upset when you're hiding under the bed while someone is invading your home and you see the closest officer stop at the local donut shop.

  5. Re:Didn't we all assume this was already happening by Known+Nutter · · Score: 2

    Many (not all, not most) cell systems these days will pass the tower location on to 911 along with an approximate distance from the tower, and an accuracy estimate expressed in percentage. (Tower location, 300 meters, 90% accuracy).

    --
    Beware of the Leopard.
  6. Doing their own thing? by thegarbz · · Score: 2

    How does this compare with the ETSI standard for Advanced Mobile Location which Android has supported since 2015 and has started mass rollout in Europe?

    Is Apple going their own way here with yet another incompatible thing, only this time not at the expense of consumer convenience but rather at the expense of actual lives? The article is really shy on details.