If this year has been teaching us anything, it’s to each day expect the unexpected. Fortunately, with the technology we have in our smartphones and wearables, we can be better equipped for emergencies.

It’s with that mindset that we look at a service called Parachute for iOS and on Android (early access.) With just a push of a button, Parachute will broadcast video, audio, and your location to whomever you’ve set up to be your emergency contact(s). When a crisis occurs, we’re often gripped with fear, adrenaline, or other emotions. It can be challenging to place a call or properly launch your camera to record evidence. Here Parachute does the heavy lifting.

The features include:

• Simultaneously calls, texts and emails to your emergency contacts
• Send your live video, audio, and location straight from the scene
• Records discreetly to protect your safety
• Prevents accidental touches from stopping the recording or blurring the focus
• Saves all your evidence away from your phone, so it is safe even if the phone is lost, taken, or destroyed

Current events demonstrate the need for apps like this no matter who you are. It doesn’t come without a cost, but the peace of mind it can bring make this a worthy consideration for your budget.

Get more information at: https://parachute.live

Establish an Emergency Contact

It’s essential to be aware of ways to make emergency calls with the devices you already have at your disposal. Let’s start with making sure you have an emergency contact.

For iPhone:

• Open the Health App and click your profile picture.
• Tap Medical ID.
• Tap Edit, then scroll to the Emergency Contacts.
• Tap the add button + to add an emergency contact.
• Tap a contact, then add their relationship to you.
• To save your changes, tap Done.

Now that you have your emergency contact, check the link below for the various ways to place an emergency call based on your phone model and preferences:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208076#soscontacts

For Android:

1. Open your phone’s Settings app.
2. Tap About phone > Emergency information.
3. Enter the info that you want to share.
   • For medical info, tap Edit information. If you don’t see “Edit information,” tap Info.
   • For emergency contacts, tap Add contact. If you don’t see “Add contact,” tap Contacts.
   • To clear your info, tap More : > Clear all.

https://support.google.com/android/answer/9319337?hl=en

With your emergency contact setup on your phone, it’s a time to go over ways call for help from a compatible wearable.

Apple Watch

Hold down the side button for three seconds. you’ll be presented with an Emergency SOS slider. Slide the SOS slider to place a call to a local 911 operator, or hold the side button down longer, and the watch will countdown before placing the call automatically.

Samsung Galaxy Wearable

Quickly press the Home key three times to send an SOS request to your emergency contact and 911. Be sure that you keep your emergency contact up to date in your respective smartphone, as that may become a life-saving feature.

Other panic button wearables

Other wearables include rings by Nimb, charms from Ripple 24/7, and discreet tiles like Roar are also great devices that can be used easily in cases where getting into your smartphone is not practical. We can’t talk about this topic without also highlighting a company called Kwema, which has some roots in the City of Erie via their involvement with the Erie Innovation District. All of these devices are intended to alert authorities to prevent human trafficking and kidnapping and to bring help to assault and accident victims.

Life may be uncertain, but it is reassuring to see our technology develop in ways that make us safer. We just need to take the time to learn it.