Google to bring iPhone-style live video sharing to Android Emergencies

Smartphones play a crucial role during emergencies, allowing users to quickly notify emergency services and family members. Google has progressively enhanced its Pixel phones with safety tools like Car Crash Detection, Safety Check, and Crisis Alerts. Now, it looks like Android may soon adopt a feature pioneered by Apple.

In 2024, Apple launched Emergency SOS Live Video, which lets emergency dispatchers request a live video feed or photos from an iPhone during a crisis. While users can’t save the footage sent, dispatchers have the option to store it for their records.

According to Android Authority, the latest beta of Google Play Services includes new lines of code suggesting a similar feature. The code contains prompts like “Share live video” and “Emergency services will use your camera to view this emergency.”

This development closely resembles Apple’s Emergency SOS Live Video, potentially allowing Android users to share live footage with emergency services.

However, Google hasn’t confirmed the feature’s existence, and it’s unclear if it would roll out to all Android devices or remain exclusive to Pixel phones.

Current emergency video feature on Android

At present, Google offers an emergency video feature only on Pixel devices. Pixel users can record up to 45 minutes of video, which is automatically shared via a link with their emergency contacts 15 seconds after recording ends.Emergency contacts currently have one week to download the video using the shared link. Unlike Apple, Google doesn’t offer a direct connection between the user’s recorded videos and emergency services, nor does it support live streaming.The new beta in Google Play Services suggests that Google may be working to address these gaps. However, it’s still unclear whether this feature will be available on all Android devices or remain limited to Pixel phones, and no release timeline has been announced.