Ask HN: Why is there no way to lower amber alert volume on headphones?

Post by bradleyankrom » Wed, Nov 09, 2022, 3:11 PM UTC

coldpie wrote: post #51

dtjb wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's getting worse. Most US states [1] have started to use the phone siren system for injured cops as well. Regardless of your politics on this, what exactly am I supposed to do with a notification at 2AM that a cop was shot 400 miles away? Seems like the phone alert system is being used to push public perceptions rather than public safety. [1] https://cops.usdoj.gov/BlueAlert

> Seems like the phone alert system is being used to push public perceptions rather than public safety. Yes, they absolutely are. Just a couple weeks ago, local law enforcement sent out an incredibly vague shelter-in-place active-shooter alert across the entire Twin Cities area for a situation in a suburb that was resolved about five minutes later[1]. Schools were locked down, buildings closed, etc. And wouldn't you…

Post by bombcar » Wed, Nov 09, 2022, 3:15 PM UTC

t0mas88 wrote: post #80

prvit wrote: post #62

Why do Americans need amber alerts? How come the rest of the world apparently doesn’t?

We have them in the Netherlands as well, but not nearly as many. You get about 1 or 2 per year that happen as a message to everyone, only used for life threatening situations. And then around 15 per year for which only an app notification and social media are sent.

Post by bombcar » Wed, Nov 09, 2022, 3:20 PM UTC

js2 wrote: post #77

bombcar wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We get them every single time a thunderstorm sniffs at anything in the tricounty area. There may be a way to turn off the "Watch" alerts and still keep the "we are gonna die" alerts. The one time we got the green sky of doom the phone did explode in a way not normally seen, so I assume they know something about crying wolf. As for amber alerts being useless - something like 90% (?) of the time it's a custody dispute…

I have a weather radio in our bedroom with only two alerts enabled: tornado warning (not watch), and the nuclear power plant 6 miles away just had an incident, whatever that’s called. Weather radio alerts are very granular and most radios will let you configure just the ones you want to hear. https://www.weather.gov/nwr/eventcodes

Post by RegnisGnaw » Wed, Nov 09, 2022, 3:27 PM UTC

Spoom wrote: post #59

radford-neal wrote: post #26

I very much doubt that there is any technical reason for the alerts always being loud. It's a deliberate decision. Like the whole idea of amber alerts, it is a matter of authorities taking decisions that make them feel good, without considering the consequences. Amber alerts are bad. We get them now and them in Ontario at 3am, sent to the entire (rather large) province. This is idiotic. The probability that someone w…

Ontario is worse than most places because, at least as of a couple of years ago, they send all alerts as Presidential alerts, meaning they can't be turned off at all.

Post by RegnisGnaw » Wed, Nov 09, 2022, 3:30 PM UTC

mrits wrote: post #10

tyleo wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are they useless? I grew up in an area with tornadoes and when one came ripping through my childhood suburb and destroyed some houses I was happy to have forewarning.

I have amber alerts disabled but still receive weather emergency notifications. Which makes sense. Perhaps it works differently in different states? In Texas my iPhone has this alert granularity: AMBER Emergency Public Safety Test