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What Is Safety Check

The Facebook team has created a simple to use tool that allows users to connect with their network during a crisis.

When Will It Be Used

When a natural disaster or crisis occurs it's common for people and companies to turn to the internet to check on loved ones and employees. With 3.2 billion subscribers, Facebook is a popular choice for such information.

How Does It Work

Safety Check is a helpful online tool within Facebook that people can use to:

• Let friends, family and a workplace know they are safe

• Check on others 

• Mark family and colleagues as safe

Click Here to See: Safety Conferences for Last QTR of 2014 and First Half of 2015

When Safety Check is activated, if you are in or near an area of crisis or natural disaster you will receive a Facebook notification asking if you are safe.

Facebook will determine your location 3 different ways: 1) via the city you have listed in your profile, 2) your last location if you have opted in to the Nearby Friends feature and 3) the city where you are using the internet.

Safety Check Notifications

Are you Ok? It looks like you're in the area affected by the _______. Let friends know if you're safe.

In the event, Facebook is incorrect about your location you can simply mark that you are outside of the affected area.

If you are in the affected area and safe, select the "I'm safe" option and a notification and News Feed story will be created with your update. Your friends can also mark you as safe. If you have friends in the area that have activated the Safety Check feature you will receive a notification about those friends that have marked themselves as safe.

What's The Long Term Potential Impact

While still in its infancy, the Safety Check feature has the potential to be a successful safety feature. Safety professionals will find new and creative ways to expand the use of the feature to help families and employees connect during times of need. Once communication is established with people in a crisis area, early reports and information of events may help expedite rescues and save lives.