On 23 of April at 3pm there will be a national test of the Emergency Alerts service. These alerts are designed to notify you if there is a danger to life nearby, this could be related to extreme weather warnings. Charities such as Refuge are concerned that those who have a hidden phone within the home may be endangered. Therefore Refuge has provided advice about how to opt out of receiving the alerts on a hidden device.
To opt out please take a look at Refuge's video for guidance or follow the steps below. If you are concerned that somebody is monitoring the device you are using, please do follow the instructions on our ‘secure your tech’ guides or contact the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
This is Refuge's advice:
Make sure it is safe before you start the step-by-step guide
Remember that some actions you take to increase your security or privacy might alert an abuser, and they might escalate their abusive behaviour.
If you haven’t yet, read this safety information.
Steps to secure your iPhone
- To opt out, search your settings for ‘emergency alerts’ and turn off Severe alerts and Emergency alerts.
- If this does not work, contact your device manufacturer. Log out each time.
- For further advice go to gov.uk/alerts/opt-out.
You can also watch our step-by-step guide on YouTube.
Steps to secure your Android
- To opt out, search your settings for ‘emergency alerts’ and turn off Severe alerts and Emergency alerts.
- On Huawei devices running EMUI 11 or older, search your settings for ‘emergency alerts’ and please turn off “Extreme threats”, “Severe threats” and “Show amber alerts”
- If this does not work, contact your device manufacturer.
You can also watch our step-by-step guide on YouTube.
