For those not aware, enhanced 911 / 112 has existed in some way shape or form for almost the past 20 years.
Apple sets up iPhones to relay location for 911 calls
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Re: Apple sets up iPhones to relay location for 911 calls
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
In what circumstances would you want to contact 911 but not reveal your location?
Maybe you just don't want your location ever being sent to a gov agency no matter your predicament.
The point of 911 is to have emergency responders come to your location. If you don't want emergency responders to come to your location, you shouldn't be calling 911, full stop.
Re: Apple sets up iPhones to relay location for 911 calls
#43Will it be possible to make an anonymous 911 call? There can be scenarios, I think, where we (society) do not want to deter someone from reporting an emergency due to fear of being identified. Off the top of my head, consider a situation involving organized crime taking place, where call centre staff (or law enforcement) may be compelled to leak the identity of a witness.
I don't think it's possible to make an anonymous 911 call unless you're using a public phone. I think this is ok, since 911 is specifically for emergencies and you generally want the police/EMS to know where you are immediately since seconds can count. I think of it a bit like implied consent in first aid: by calling 911 you are inherently consenting for your location to be shared since it is likely you are in some f…
Buy a cheap phone with cash. Call 911.
Re: Apple sets up iPhones to relay location for 911 calls
#44I had to make a 999 call a few years back because I saw a woman faint and bang her head on a concrete pavement. Although I was in the local area which I know very well, it was really difficult - when put on the spot in an emergency - to describe my exact location.
Yeah. I regularly test myself when bored while driving to verbalize where I am. "Highway 401 East.. uhh I think I passed an exit for Guelph a while ago? I don't see a marker at the moment."
Off topic: if you're often bored while driving, learn the NATO phonetic alphabet using license plates around you. It helps me four or five times a year when reading off things to people in customer service. The beauty of it is that people who don't know it can still understand it when said to them.
Re: Apple sets up iPhones to relay location for 911 calls
#45I'm reading almost near universal praise. Isn't this essentially a "back door" to location services, only accessible to law enforcement? Sounds ... familiar.
It gets worse/better(?)
Apple's upcoming 911 feature relies on technology from RapidSOS, a New York startup. The approach developed by Apple and RapidSOS sends location data from an iPhone to a "clearinghouse" accessible to emergency calling centers. Only the 911 calling centers will be able to see the data during the call, and none of it can be used for non-emergency purposes, according to Apple.
So Apple AND RapidSOS get to see my location when using 911? Cool cool.
Re: Apple sets up iPhones to relay location for 911 calls
#46I must be missing something, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_9-1-1 Hasn't 911 location been shared via gps location in pretty much every cellphone for the past decade? I remember shitty verizon kyocera clamshells advertising gps for 911 in like 2004.
No. It's possible that this information has been available, but the connection to the end operator depends on local, non-standard setups. I once called 911 to report a passed out individual in Central Park. I tried relaying landmarks, lamp post #s, etc. Eventually it turns out the operator needed "5th and 80th, but in the park" to clear their prompt and dispatch an ambulance. This is on a relatively new dispatch system, too, that for some reason doesn't support GPS coordinates.
Re: Apple sets up iPhones to relay location for 911 calls
#47For anyone with the iOS12 beta, is there an opt-out for this system service in the Privacy -> Location Services -> System Services list? What happens if "Location Services" has been disabled by MDM policy, or was never enabled since the device was setup? On a new iOS11 device, if you decline to enable Location Services during setup, it stays disabled. Once enabled, it can no longer be disabled, and the system service…
In what circumstances would you want to contact 911 but not reveal your location?
Probably when you just want to report an ongoing altercation on your street but don't feel like having police cars show up in your driveway and reveal to the neighbourhood that you're the one who called the police. Source: seen it happen.
Re: Apple sets up iPhones to relay location for 911 calls
#48Good for Apple for helping to save lives. As someone who's had to wait for an ambulance while someone is dying I understand how horrible that wait is and how desperately you want them to get to you as quickly as possible. The second part of this however is to ensure it's not open to abuse (by criminals or the government) for non emergency calls.
I’d like to see Apple help subsidize the cost of upgrading the software required in rural emergency call centers if it’s required to interoperate with this new feature (perhaps coming out of their corporate social responsibility budget).
I mean, sure, if Apple wants to spend their money upgrading rural 911 call centers, good for them. But do you feel that it's reasonable to expect this, and if so, why?
Re: Apple sets up iPhones to relay location for 911 calls
#49Seems like it would be better for this to be transmitted in-band, like caller ID. This is a good step though.
Re: Apple sets up iPhones to relay location for 911 calls
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’d like to see Apple help subsidize the cost of upgrading the software required in rural emergency call centers if it’s required to interoperate with this new feature (perhaps coming out of their corporate social responsibility budget).
maybe apple could actually pay taxes and those could be used for the same benefit ;)
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