Google adds emergency location feature to its Phone app 

Google has updated its Phone app with a great new safety feature. When you call an emergency number like 911, a location card will now appear on your screen containing info like your current address along with a small map as well as your exact coordinates.

The new feature comes in handy when you, for example, get injured and need help, but don’t know exactly where you are. As soon as you make the call, all the essential location info will pop up, so you can tell the emergency service exactly where you are located.

That Google has now made this feature part of its dialer app is a great move, especially considering carriers have not always been great at sharing your location data with emergency services. One study revealed that only 20 percent of 911 calls in San Francisco were sharing location data with the emergency dispatcher, despite a 2001 mandate that carriers do so.

In addition to the Emergency location feature, the update also has call waiting improvements (accept second call and end ongoing call) as well as a few bug fixes on board. All the new features are already available, so you should either update the app on your device or download it from the Play Store to try them out.

Just keep in mind that Google’s Phone app is only compatible with Pixel, Nexus, Android One, and Google Play Edition devices running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and newer.