Most people carry their phone everywhere but never think about what happens if they can’t actually use it during an emergency. You’re conscious, but your hands are shaking too much to unlock the screen. Or you’re hurt and a stranger finds your phone but has no idea who to call.
There’s a feature built into almost every modern smartphone that solves this exact problem. It lets anyone access your critical information and contact your emergency contacts without unlocking your device. Most people have never set it up.
1. What This Feature Actually Does
Your phone’s emergency information screen appears before the lock screen. Anyone can access it by tapping a specific option on your locked phone. No password needed, no Face ID required.
This screen can display your medical conditions, allergies, blood type, medications you take, and who to call if something happens to you. First responders look for this information. So do good samaritans who find you unconscious or injured.
The feature exists on both iPhones and Android devices, though they call it different things. iPhone users find it under “Medical ID” in the Health app. Android users see it as “Emergency Information” in their settings.
2. Why Everyone Ignores It
Setting up emergency information feels like planning for something that won’t happen. It’s the same reason people avoid writing wills or buying life insurance. Nobody wants to imagine themselves unconscious on the sidewalk.
But emergencies don’t announce themselves. The person who sets this up after a close call is doing it too late for that particular incident. The window where this information matters most is exactly when you haven’t prepared for it.
There’s also the assumption that emergency services will figure everything out anyway. They will, eventually. But knowing your medication allergies in the first three minutes instead of the first three hours can change outcomes dramatically.
3. What Information Actually Matters
You don’t need to write your life story. The emergency information screen works best when it’s scannable in under ten seconds.
Medical conditions come first. If you’re diabetic, asthmatic, epileptic, or have any condition that affects emergency treatment, that goes at the top. Allergies follow right after, especially medication allergies. Penicillin allergies, latex allergies, anything that could matter when someone is trying to help you.
Current medications belong on this list too. Not because paramedics need your full prescription history, but because certain drugs interact badly with emergency treatments. Blood thinners, heart medications, insulin—these things matter.
Your emergency contacts should be people who will actually answer their phone. Listing your spouse is obvious, but add a second or third person in case the first doesn’t pick up. Include people in different locations if possible.
4. The Part Nobody Thinks About
Your lock screen can also show a message that appears before anyone even accesses the emergency information. Some people use this to add critical details that don’t fit elsewhere. “Organ donor” is common. So is “diabetic” or “severe bee allergy.”
This visible message means someone doesn’t have to know the emergency feature exists to get your most critical information. They just look at your locked phone and see it.
Parents often add their children’s emergency information even though kids don’t carry phones everywhere. A teenager’s phone sitting in their backpack during a sports injury suddenly becomes useful when coaches or athletic trainers can check it.
5. When Strangers Become Your Lifeline
Here’s the uncomfortable reality: during most emergencies, the person helping you is a stranger. They don’t know your medical history. They don’t know who loves you or who should be called. They’re just trying to do the right thing with limited information.
Your phone might be the only thing connecting your unconscious body to the people who need to know you’re in trouble. Without emergency information set up, that stranger is guessing. They might call the last person you texted, who could be anyone. They might not call anyone at all.
6. The Five-Minute Setup That Sits There Forever
Setting this up takes less time than reading this article. You enter the information once and forget about it. The feature just sits there, unused, until the day it isn’t.
Most people update this information rarely. You add it when you first learn about it, then maybe update it when you start a new medication or change doctors. It doesn’t require maintenance the way apps and passwords do.
The strange thing about emergency features is that using them means something went wrong. You set this up hoping you’ll never need it. But that’s exactly why it matters. Insurance only works if you have it before the accident.
Your phone already knows more about you than most people in your life. It might as well know the things that could save you too.
