A fall, a bad reaction to a new medication, or a sudden collapse can happen anywhere, and the person it happens to is often not able to explain what is wrong. In that moment, a phone that is locked with a passcode can get in the way of the exact information a paramedic needs most.
Android phones have a free, built in way around this. It lets you store your medical details and emergency contacts so they show up right on the lock screen, without anyone needing your PIN, pattern or password.
This guide walks through exactly how to set it up, what to include, and how to make sure it actually shows up when it is needed, whether you carry a Pixel, a Samsung Galaxy, or another Android phone.
How Do I Set Up Emergency Information on My Android Phone?
You set up emergency information through the Safety app (also called Personal Safety on some phones), where you add medical details and emergency contacts under Your info, then turn on Show when locked. The whole process takes about 5 to 10 minutes.
According to Google’s support page Get help during an emergency with your Android phone, here is how to add it, on Android 12 and later:
- Open the Settings app, or open the Safety app directly if you have it in your apps list.
- If you opened Settings, tap Safety or Safety and emergency (wording varies a little by phone brand).
- Sign in with your Google Account if asked.
- Tap Your info.
- Tap Medical information, then add your blood type, allergies, medications and any conditions.
- Go back and tap Emergency contacts, then Add contact, and choose people from your existing contact list.
- Tap Emergency info access, then turn on Show when locked.
Plain talk: Safety app
The Safety app, sometimes labeled Personal Safety, is a free app built into most Android phones running Android 12 or later. It stores your medical information and emergency contacts in one place.
Once this is done, anyone can reach this screen from your lock screen (the first screen you see when you press the power button, before entering a passcode, pattern or fingerprint) by tapping the emergency call option and then looking for an emergency information or medical info link, without needing to open the phone with a passcode first.
What Should I Add to My Medical Information?
Add whatever a paramedic or bystander would need in the first few minutes, and nothing more. According to the Google Play listing for the Personal Safety app, this section is built specifically to be visible when your phone is locked.
Useful things to include:
- Blood type
- Allergies, including drug allergies
- Current medications
- Medical conditions, such as diabetes, epilepsy, or a pacemaker
- Your height and weight, if relevant to dosing medication in an emergency
- Organ donor status, if you want it listed
Safety tip
Leave out passwords, PINs, bank details and your home security code. Emergency information is visible to anyone who picks up your phone, locked or not, so it should hold medical facts and a phone number for someone reachable quickly, never private login or financial details.
How Do I Add Emergency Contacts?
Emergency contacts are the people a responder or bystander can call on your behalf. They are separate from your regular Contacts list, so they need to be added inside the Safety app itself.
- Open the Safety app, or Settings, then Safety.
- Tap Your info, then Emergency contacts.
- Tap Add contact.
- Choose a person already saved in your phone’s Contacts app, or add someone new.
- Repeat for a second or third contact if you want more than one person listed.
Try this
Add at least one emergency contact who lives nearby and one who does not, such as a neighbor and an adult child in another city. That way, whoever finds your phone has more than one option if the first call goes to voicemail.
According to the FCC’s consumer guide on 9-1-1 Wireless Services, many people already keep a contact saved as “ICE,” short for “in case of emergency,” so a responder knows who to call first. Android’s emergency contacts feature does the same job, but in a spot a responder is more likely to actually check during a real emergency.
How Do I Make Sure It Shows on the Lock Screen?
Adding your information is only half the job. The Show when locked setting is what actually puts it on the lock screen where someone can find it without your passcode.
- Open the Safety app.
- Tap Your info.
- Tap Emergency info access.
- Turn on Show when locked.
Once this is on, your lock screen keypad or emergency call screen will include a link to view this information, and anyone can tap it without entering a PIN, pattern or password.
Safety tip
Google’s own support page is direct about this trade off: “Anyone who picks up your phone can find your lock screen message and emergency information even if your phone is locked.” That is the entire point of the feature, but it also means you should never add anything to it you would not want a stranger to read.
A separate, simpler lock screen message
Android also has a plainer, separate feature: a short text message on the lock screen itself, not inside the Safety app. It is meant for something like “If found, please call my daughter Sarah at 555-0123,” rather than full medical details.
- Open Settings.
- Tap Display.
- Under Lock screen, tap Add text on lock screen.
- Type your message.
- Tap Save.
The table below compares the two features, since it is easy to mix them up.
| Feature | What it shows | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency information (Safety app) | Medical details and emergency contacts | Settings, Safety, Your info |
| Lock screen message | A short typed note, like a return-my-phone message | Settings, Display, Lock screen |
Does This Work the Same on Samsung, Pixel and Other Android Phones?
The feature works the same way across brands, but the exact menu names and screens can look a little different. A Pixel phone tends to show a Safety app right in the apps list. Samsung, Motorola and other brands sometimes bury the same feature a level deeper inside Settings.
Try this
If you cannot find Safety or Emergency information by tapping through Settings, use the search bar at the top of the Settings app and type “emergency.” It will jump you straight to the right screen on almost any Android phone.
If your phone still does not show a Safety app after checking Settings, it likely has an older version of Android that does not include it. In that case, the simpler lock screen message from the section above is still worth setting up, since it works on older versions too.
What if I Would Rather Not Have This on My Lock Screen?
This feature is optional, and it is fine to skip it or turn it off later. Some people would rather not have any medical details visible to a stranger, even in an emergency, and that is a reasonable choice.
If you decide against it, you can still add emergency contacts without turning on the lock screen display. Follow the same steps through Your info and Emergency contacts, but leave Show when locked turned off under Emergency info access. Your contacts will still be saved inside the Safety app for you to see, just not for anyone who picks up the phone.
You can also turn Show when locked off again at any time, the same way you turned it on, if you change your mind after trying it.
How Often Should I Check This Is Still Accurate?
Emergency information is only useful if it is current. A medication list from two years ago can be more confusing than no list at all if it sends a paramedic looking for a drug allergy you no longer have, or misses a new one.
Try this
Check your emergency information whenever you update your regular contact list, or set a reminder every six months. It only takes a minute once everything is already filled in, and it means the details stay trustworthy if they are ever actually needed.
Update it whenever any of the following changes:
- You start or stop a regular medication
- You get a new diagnosis, or a condition is resolved
- An emergency contact’s phone number changes
- You want to add or remove a person from the list
Where to go from here
Setting up emergency information takes a few minutes and then quietly sits there, ready if it is ever needed. It pairs well with a couple of other things worth doing once, like making sure a family member can find a lost or misplaced phone. Our guide on helping your parent’s Android phone if it goes missing covers that setup.
If you are getting a whole phone ready for yourself or a parent, how to set up a phone for an aging parent and how to help a parent with their phone remotely walk through the wider picture, and Samsung Easy Mode is worth a look if the phone is a Galaxy and the everyday screens still feel cluttered. An iPhone in the house too? See how to set up Medical ID and emergency contacts on iPhone for the same setup on Apple’s side.
For a deeper walkthrough of this and dozens of other everyday Android settings, in the same large print, step by step style as this article, see Your Android Phone.
