Google has announced that Android users in Ukraine will receive air raid warnings directly on their smartphones before they happen.
The feature was developed in collaboration with the Ukrainian government for the purpose of introducing a warning system for telephones.
“Millions of people in Ukraine are relying on air raid warnings to try to escape to safety. At the request and with the help of the Government of Ukraine, we have begun to introduce a rapid air strike warning system for Android phones in Ukraine, “said Google.
Android alerts will be based on those already sent by the government there, and Android’s vice president of engineering, Dave Burke, says the feature is designed according to a system to quickly send earthquake alerts.
“The system uses the low-latency warning mechanism that we developed for earthquake warnings,” Burke wrote on Twitter, adding that Android air strike warnings are set to be introduced over the next few days.
The system starts rolling out today and will ramp up to target all Android phones in Ukraine over the next few days. Thankful to our eng/product/UX teams for racing to get to a soln in short order. 3/3
— Dave Burke (@davey_burke) March 10, 2022