Facebook Safety Check

Facebook Safety Check is a feature managed by social networking company Facebook. The feature is activated by the company during natural or man-made disasters to quickly determine whether people in the affected geographical area are safe.[1]

History

Release

The feature was developed by Facebook's engineers in Japan, inspired by people's use of social media to connect with friends and family in the wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[2][3] Originally named the Disaster Message Board, it was renamed to Safety Check prior to release.[2] It was introduced on October 15, 2014.[4][5] Its first major deployment was on Saturday, April 25, 2015 in the wake of the 2015 Nepal earthquake.[6]

Deployment in the context of the Nepal earthquake

On Saturday, April 25, 2015, an earthquake struck Nepal, with an estimated loss of a few thousand lives. Within a few hours of the earthquake hitting, Facebook had activated Safety Check in the region.[6][7] It identified users as possibly being in the affected area by their current city as listed on their profile, as well as the place from which they had most recently accessed Facebook.[8] The desktop version of Safety Check also provided a brief synopsis of the event and emergency contact numbers.[8]

Reception

Reception upon release

Upon the release of Safety Check, Richard Lawler wrote in Engadget praised the tool, writing "[I]t can take some pressure off of overloaded infrastructure with everyone trying to call affected areas after disasters hit, and of course, save you from a post-tragedy chewing out for failure to let people know you're fine." On the flip side, he posited that Safety Check might be "a cagey way to try to take some of the creepiness out of the apps' location tracking features."[3]

Reception of deployment for Nepal earthquake

Commentators praised Facebook Safety Check[8][9]and compared it to Google Person Finder, a tool by Google with a similar purpose.[10][11][12][13][14] However, commentators noted that due to low penetration of mobile devices and poor network connectivity in the region (which had worsened due to the earthquake), many of the people in the target audience of the tool would not be able to use it.[10][12][15][14] This was likened to similar problems faced by Google Person Finder during the 2010 Pakistan floods.[10][12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Facebook Safety Check". Facebook. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chowdhry, Amit (October 16, 2014). "Facebook 'Safety Check' Tells Your Friends That You Are Safe During A Disaster In The Area". Forbes. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lawler, Richard (October 16, 2014). "Facebook 'Safety Check' lets friends know you're OK after a major disaster". Engadget. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  4. ↑ Gleit, Naomi; Zeng, Sharon; Cottle, Peter (October 15, 2014). "Introducing Safety Check". Facebook. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  5. ↑ Zuckerberg, Mark (October 15, 2014). "Today we announced the launch of Safety Check on Facebook.". Facebook. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Safety Check for Nepal Earthquake". Facebook. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  7. ↑ Zuckerberg, Mark (April 25, 2015). "This morning we activated Safety Check for people affected by the earthquake in Nepal.". Facebook. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Levine, Brittany (April 25, 2015). "Facebook Safety Check connects those affected by devastating Nepal earthquake". Mashable. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  9. ↑ Eadicicco, Lisa (April 26, 2015). "Facebook has a brilliant feature that can help anyone who may be in danger from the Nepal earthquake". Business Insider. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Lindsay, Rowena (April 27, 2015). "Facebook Safety Check helps users locate loved ones in Nepal (+video). How social media is changing the face of disaster relief.". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Google’s ‘Person Finder’ and Facebook’s ‘Safety App’ to help locate those stranded in Nepal earthquake". First Post. April 28, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Newman, Lily Hay (April 25, 2015). "After Nepal Earthquake, Facebook and Google Offer Safety Check-In Features". Slate Magazine. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Nepal earthquake: How tech from Facebook to Google can help survivors". Indian Express. April 27, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Dewey, Caitlin (April 27, 2015). "How Google and Facebook are finding victims of the Nepal earthquake". Washington Post. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  15. ↑ Schiavenza, Matt (April 25, 2015). "Updating Facebook to Say 'I'm Safe'. The social network activated its new "Safety Check" service after Saturday's tragic earthquake.". The Atlantic. Retrieved April 27, 2015.