Google’s New Service Will Share Your Exact Location With Authorities for 112 Emergency Calls

Google has activated its Android Emergency Location Service (ELS) in India, a feature that automatically shares a caller’s precise location with emergency services when they dial 112 from an Android phone. Uttar Pradesh is the first state to fully operationalise the system, integrating it into the UP112 control room infrastructure.

How Android Emergency Location Service works

ELS is built into Android and switches on only when a user calls or texts an emergency number like 112. It uses GPS, Wi‑Fi and cellular networks, along with Android’s Fused Location Provider, to calculate a highly accurate location, often within about 50 metres, and sends those coordinates directly from the phone to the emergency response system.

In Uttar Pradesh, the service has been integrated by the state police and implemented with Pert Telecom Solutions (PertSol), allowing UP112 operators to see a caller’s location almost instantly and dispatch police, medical or fire services accordingly. During pilot testing, ELS supported over 20 million calls and SMS messages, including cases where the call dropped just seconds after connecting.

Privacy and data handling

Google says ELS is free to use, requires no extra app or hardware, and is only activated during an emergency call or SMS. The company emphasises that the precise location is not collected or stored by Google; instead, it is sent directly from the caller’s device to the emergency service provider and is only available to those authorities handling the incident.

What this means for Android users in India

ELS currently works on compatible Android devices running version 6.0 and above in Uttar Pradesh, and is designed to help first responders reach callers faster and more accurately, especially when the caller is distressed or unable to describe their location. Google says it hopes other Indian states will adopt the technology, potentially bringing precise, handset-based location sharing to 112 emergency calls across more regions in the country.

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