The ‘terrifying’ Apple iPhone feature hardly anyone knows about – but it could save your life
A young woman has revealed how Apple’s ‘confrontational’ crash detection feature works by sharing the text message she received when her sister was in a car accident.
The ‘very frightening’ text came from her sister’s phone number and revealed her location on a map, alongside a warning that she had been in an accident.
‘Crash detected SOS. “I called emergency services from this approximate location after the iPhone detected a crash,” the automated message read.
“You are receiving this message because I listed you as an emergency contact.”
The woman immediately sent her sister back to ask if everything was okay because she had never heard of the phone feature.
A young woman has revealed how Apple’s ‘confrontational’ crash detection feature works by sharing the text message she received when her sister was in a car accident
Her sister confirmed the accident and although she was fine, she suffered a few broken ribs in the impact.
“As soon as I got the message, I called her a few times but no answer. “I got really nervous,” the woman wrote.
“Luckily her husband called me and said he had spoken to her and she was fine, but she had just been punched.”
The woman posted a screenshot of the brief exchange on Reddit to alert people to the feature. Most had never heard of it and expressed how concerned they would be if they received a similar message.
“I would freak out if I got this – my sister is my best friend,” one woman wrote.
“That message must have been terrifying to receive. Glad she’s doing well. I hope you are too,” said another.
Some wanted to know how the feature, which works on iPhone 14 and later and Apple Watch 8 and later, is set up.
“I’m assuming it’s the accelerometer, but the crash was not minor,” the poster wrote.
The woman said the accident was pretty bad, but her sister will be fine
‘I didn’t know that was a feature either. I like it, but man, it would give me chills if I got that text,” said another.
‘I messed around once and dropped my phone when I got out of my car after parking. This triggered and I was able to cancel it in time, but it was reassuring to know the crash detection was working,” one person added.
One woman shared her own handy ‘accident hack’.
‘There’s a Siri command that you can set up and say, ‘Siri, I’m being pulled over’ and it will launch your front camera and when you’re done recording it will automatically send the video and your location to whoever you selected,” they wrote.
The crash detection function, which works based on sensor data, must be activated on Apple devices.
It can be added to the SOS tab in the settings – and users can choose to have the message sent to their chosen contact or just to emergency services.
“Crash Detection is designed to detect serious car crashes – such as head-on, side and rear-end collisions, and rollovers – involving sedans, minivans, SUVs, utes and other passenger vehicles,” the spokesperson said. Apple support page is reading.
‘If a serious car accident is detected, an alarm will sound and an alert will appear on your iPhone or Apple Watch.’