Despite the frivolous nature of most social media interactions, Facebook's latest new feature is intended for use only in serious situations. Unveiled today in Japan, Safety Check notifications are pushed to users when a natural disaster hits and area you have listed as your location, where you've checked in on Nearby Friends, or where you recently logged in from. Tech companies like Google and Facebook have worked to connect people after significant disasters in the past, and Facebook says the project is an extension of the Disaster Message Board its Japanese engineers rolled out after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami there. Safety Check is rolling out globally on Android, iOS, feature phones and the desktop -- there's a demo video (embedded after the break) to explain how it all works.
A simple I'm safe / I'm not in the area toggle can push an update (and comments, if you enter them) that's visible only to people on your friends list, intended to quickly give some piece of mind when they notice a USGS report for your zipcode -- or worse. If you simply have friends who are in the area of a natural disaster, there's a notification when they check-in as safe that can take you to a list of their updates.
Filed under: Internet, Mobile, Facebook
Source: Facebook
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