New Delhi : Google has announced the rollout of Emergency Location Service (ELS) on Android phones in India, with Uttar Pradesh becoming the first state to fully link the feature with its 112 emergency services. ELS is a built-in feature in Android smartphones that automatically shares a caller’s exact location with emergency teams when a person makes a 112 call or sends an SMS.
The service uses GPS, Wi-Fi and mobile network signals to find the caller’s location with an accuracy of up to 50 metres.
This means police, ambulance and fire services can reach people faster, even if the emergency call gets disconnected within seconds. The feature is especially useful when callers are in panic or unable to clearly explain where they are.
Google says ELS works automatically during emergency calls and does not require any extra app or setup. The company added that the feature could help save lives by reducing response time during critical situations.
“In an emergency, every second counts. And the most important piece of information for first responders is knowing the location where help is needed. To help address this issue and bring our users more peace of mind, Google built Emergency Location Service (ELS) in Android. ELS in Android uses data from GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular networks, and can even send additional information like device language, providing location precision often reaching accuracy of within 50 meters,” Google said in a blog post.
Why does this matter?
In panic situations, people often cannot clearly explain where they are. With ELS, first responders no longer need to depend only on verbal directions, helping police, ambulance and fire teams reach the spot faster.
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Google says the service has already shown strong results in Uttar Pradesh. During pilot testing, ELS helped identify locations for over 20 million emergency calls and messages, including cases where calls dropped within seconds. The system is powered by Android’s machine-learning based Fused Location Provider, which works in cities, villages, highways and remote areas.
According to the search giant, privacy is a key focus here. Google has made it clear that ELS activates only during emergency calls, is free of charge, and does not store or collect location data. The caller’s location is sent directly from the phone to emergency services, not to Google.
No extra app or hardware is needed and the feature works on Android phones running Android 6.0 and above.
The integration in Uttar Pradesh has been carried out by Uttar Pradesh Police along with local technology partners handling the backend systems for 112.
Google says this India launch is just the beginning and hopes other states will soon adopt ELS, strengthening emergency response systems across the country.
