If you were in an accident or suddenly fell ill, could the people helping you find out about your allergies, medications or who to call? Your phone can answer those questions, even when it’s locked, but only if you set it up first.
Both iPhone and Android have a built-in place for emergency medical details and contacts. It takes about five minutes.
On iPhone: set up Medical ID
- Open the Health app and go to the Summary tab.
- Tap your profile picture in the upper corner.
- Under your profile picture, tap Medical ID.
- Tap Edit and fill in what you’re comfortable sharing, such as medications, allergies, conditions and blood type.
- Turn on Show When Locked. According to Apple, this lets first responders see your Medical ID from the Lock Screen without your passcode.
- Turn on Share During Emergency Call if you want your Medical ID sent to emergency services when you call or text them.
- Tap Done.
Add emergency contacts on iPhone
In the same Medical ID screen, tap Edit, scroll to Emergency Contacts, tap the add button, pick a contact and choose their relationship to you. Tap Done to save.
On Android: add emergency information
On many Android phones this lives in Google’s Safety app. Google notes that some steps work only on Android 12 and later, and phone makers can name things a little differently.
- Open the Safety app and sign in to your Google Account if asked.
- Tap Your info.
- Tap Medical information and add details such as blood type, allergies or medications.
- Go back to Your info and tap Emergency contacts, then Add contact.
- To make the details available on the lock screen, tap Emergency info access and choose Show when locked.
Google says anyone who picks up your phone can then swipe up on the lock screen, tap Emergency and choose View emergency info.
A few tips
- Share only what helps. Lock-screen information is visible to anyone holding your phone, so stick to details that matter in an emergency.
- Keep it current. Update it when your medications or contacts change. A good habit is to review it once a year, perhaps on your birthday.
- Tell your contacts. Let the people you list know they’re on it.
- Set it up for family members. It’s especially worth doing for older relatives or anyone with a serious allergy or chronic condition.
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