Here at Fearless Social, we not only report on the latest features for small businesses to market their business more effectively, but we also report on social features that Facebook adds to make our lives better.

The new Safety Check Facebook feature is worth reporting on.

Facebook recently introduced Safety Check that lets friends and family know you’re safe after a natural disaster has occurred. After a major disaster, Facebook will send you a message asking if you’re OK.

When the tool is activated after a natural disaster and if you’re in the affected area, you’ll receive a Facebook notification asking if you’re safe.

Facebook determines your location by looking at the city you have listed in your profile, your last location if you’ve opted in to the Nearby Friends product, and the city where you are using the internet.

During a major disaster, Safety Check will help you:

• Let friends and family know you’re safe
• Check on others in the affected area
• Mark your friends as safe

 

 

Watch the video for more information:

Enabling The Safety Check Feature

While it doesn’t seem like this is an official setting in Facebook, for right now, to enable this feature, make sure your location setting is turned on. Simple go to your phone and go to:

Settings =>Facebook=>Settings=>Privacy=>Location Services=>Choose Never / While Using the App / Always

It is up to you if you want Facebook to know where you are at all times. This comes with obvious concerns, but in an event of a disaster, you might be happy when you are able to communicate with friends and family about your safety.

Don’t worry if it’s not activated though. If you have friends in the area of a natural disaster and the tool has been activated, you will receive a notification about those friends that have marked themselves as safe. Clicking on this notification will take you to the Safety Check bookmark that will show you a list of their updates.