The whole UK will receive a practice emergency alert on their phones at 3pm this Sunday – meaning anyone with a secret device needs to make sure they turn it off.
The government is going to send an alert to all 4G and 5G on April 23, accompanied with a sound and vibration which will go off automatically for 10 seconds. Phones with out-of-date software (earlier than iOS 14.5 or Android 11) will not receive it.
You don’t have to take any action when it goes off, just tap OK or swipe it away like a regular notification.
It’s meant to be used for “life-threatening emergencies”, including extreme weather events.
As Citizens Advice for Hull and East Riding explained on Instagram, this will expose the location of your device, even if it’s on silent or if notifications are turned off.
So it’s best to turn the device off altogether or have it on aeroplane mode.
Citizens Advice explained that this is particularly key for people facing domestic abuse, adding: “You will be connected to someone who is living with domestic abuse right now, even if you think you’re not.
“Sharing this information could help keep them safe.”
Although the government has urged people not to do this, it is possible to turn off such warnings by going to the “emergency alerts” in settings, and turning off “severe alerts” and “extreme alerts”.
Domestic abuse charity Refuge has also produced a video demonstrating how to turn off the alerts.
The government has revealed that the text will read: “This is a test of Emergency Alerts, a new UK government service that will warn you if there’s a life-threatening emergency nearby.
“In a real emergency, follow the instructions in the alert to keep yourself and others safe.
“This is a test. You do not need to take any action.”