For some Android users, calling for help is about to get upgraded. Dialing an emergency number the UK and Estonia will now instantly send information about your location if you’re calling from an Android device, Google announced yesterday.
With the change, 999 operators (the emergency number in the UK and many other countries) will be able to access information from Android’s new Emergency Location Service. ELS makes up for where tracking via GPS and cellphone towers can sometimes suffer: indoors. Google is vague on how it works — it still uses GPS and cell signals, in addition to location data from apps and Wi-Fi. It can also turn on a phone’s location services if a user has them off.
