Google's Android Emergency Location Service goes live in India: What is it

Google has activated its Android Emergency Location Service in India, beginning with Uttar Pradesh, enabling automatic sharing of a caller's location with emergency services during 112 calls

Google has activated its Android Emergency Location Service (ELS) in India for the first time, beginning with Uttar Pradesh. The feature is designed to automatically share a caller’s location with emergency services when they dial an emergency number such as 112. By transmitting location data automatically, the service aims to reduce delays caused by incomplete or unclear information during emergencies.

What is Android Emergency Location Service (ELS)?

Emergency Location Service is a built-in Android feature that sends location information to emergency responders when a user places an emergency call or sends an emergency SMS. Instead of relying only on what a caller can explain verbally, ELS uses signals from GPS, Wi-Fi, and mobile networks to determine the device’s location. 

  According to Google, ELS can often provide location accuracy within around 50 metres. Along with coordinates, it can also share contextual details such as the device’s language setting, which may help emergency operators communicate more effectively with callers.

 

The service is already operational in more than 60 countries and has now gone live in India after being integrated into local emergency response systems.

ELS rollout in Uttar Pradesh: How it works

Uttar Pradesh is the first Indian state to fully operationalise Android’s Emergency Location Service. The system has been integrated by the Uttar Pradesh Police and implemented with the support of Pert Telecom Solutions Pvt Ltd.

 

Google said that during pilot testing conducted over the past few months, the service supported more than 20 million emergency calls and messages across the state. The company added that the system was able to identify caller locations even when calls dropped shortly after connecting, allowing emergency services to still receive usable location data and dispatch assistance.

Privacy and availability

Google has said that privacy safeguards are built into ELS. The feature activates only when an emergency number is dialled or an emergency message is sent. It does not operate in the background and does not require users to install any additional apps or hardware.

 

Location data is sent directly from the user’s phone to emergency services and is not collected or stored by Google. The service is free to use and available on Android devices running version 6.0 and above.