Facebook Safety Check
{{short description|Feature managed by the social networking company Facebook}}
{{Update|part=Other deployments|reason=Additional events|date=September 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
File:Facebook Safety Check.png, United Kingdom]]
Facebook Safety Check (sometimes called Facebook Crisis Response) is a feature managed by the social networking company Facebook. The feature is activated by the company during natural or man-made disasters and terror-related incidents to quickly determine whether people in the affected geographical area are safe.{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/about/safetycheck|title = Facebook Safety Check |access-date=April 27, 2015 |publisher=Facebook}}
History
= Release =
The feature was developed by Facebook engineers, inspired by people's use of social media to connect with friends and family in the wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2014/10/16/facebook-launches-disaster-notification-feature-safety-check/|title = Facebook 'Safety Check' Tells Your Friends That You Are Safe During A Disaster in the Area|date = October 16, 2014|access-date = April 27, 2015|magazine = Forbes|last = Chowdhry|first = Amit}}{{cite magazine|url = https://www.fastcompany.com/40432085/how-facebooks-growth-team-used-science-and-empathy-to-reach-two-billion-users|title = How Facebook Used Science And Empathy To Reach Two Billion Users. Facebook's growth team has a methodical approach to understanding what new users want, and a surprisingly broad mandate.|date = June 27, 2017|access-date = July 9, 2017|magazine = Fast Company}} Originally named the Disaster Message Board, it was renamed to Safety Check prior to release. It was introduced on October 15, 2014.{{cite web|url=http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/10/introducing-safety-check|title = Introducing Safety Check|publisher = Facebook|date = October 15, 2014|access-date = April 27, 2015|last1 = Gleit|first1 = Naomi|author-link = Naomi Gleit | last2 = Zeng|first2 = Sharon|last3 = Cottle|first3 = Peter}}{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10101699265809491|title = Today we announced the launch of Safety Check on Facebook.|last = Zuckerberg|first = Mark|author-link = Mark Zuckerberg|date = October 15, 2014|access-date = April 27, 2015|publisher = Facebook}} Its first major deployment was on Saturday, April 25, 2015, in the wake of the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/safetycheck/nepalearthquake/|title = Safety Check for Nepal Earthquake|publisher = Facebook|access-date = April 27, 2015}} The tool was deployed again in the wake of the May 2015 Nepal earthquake,{{cite web |url=http://now.snopes.com/2015/05/13/nepal-facebook-safety-check/ |title=Facebook Safety Check Confusion After Nepal Earthquake |last=LaCapria |first=Kim |website=Snopes |date=May 13, 2015 |access-date=May 14, 2015 }}{{dead link|date=October 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} during Pacific Hurricane Patricia in October 2015, and during the November 2015 Paris attacks, the latter being the first time the tool was used in response to a non-natural disaster.{{cite web|url=http://cnnmon.ie/1SqJ6E0|title = Facebook activates 'Safety Check' during Paris attack|date = November 13, 2015|access-date = November 14, 2015|website = CNNMoney|last = Pallotta|first = Frank}} On March 22, 2016, during reports of explosions at an airport and train station in Brussels, the feature was turned on again, but there was a delay in turning it on after it was revealed it was a suicide bomber attack.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/brussels-attacks-facebook-safety-check-activated-belgium-zaventem-airport-maalbeek-metro-station-a6945636.html|title=Brussels attacks: Facebook Safety Check activated following deadly explosions at airport and Metro station|last=Griffin|first=Andrew|date=March 22, 2016|work=The Independent|access-date=September 4, 2016}}
On June 2, 2016, Facebook announced that it would start experimenting with community-activated Safety Checks. With the new system, Safety Check would be activated based on combination of a certain number of people posting about a particular crisis plus an alert from one of Facebook's third-party sources. Users would also be able to share and spread the word about the Safety Check once it was activated. Facebook hoped the changes would lead to more consistent, frequent, and streamlined deployments around the world.{{cite web|url = https://code.facebook.com/posts/1031317120284314?__mref=message_bubble&pnref=story|title = Safety Check: Streamlining deployment around the world|last = Cottle|first = Peter|date = June 2, 2016|access-date = June 2, 2016|publisher = Facebook}}{{cite news|url = https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/02/facebooks-taking-a-more-community-driven-approach-to-safety-check/|title = Facebook to enable community-activated Safety Check|author = Megan Rose Dickey|date = June 2, 2016|work = TechCrunch|access-date = June 2, 2016}}{{cite web|url = https://www.pcmag.com/news/344935/facebook-alters-safety-check-to-improve-accuracy|title = Facebook Alters Safety Check to Improve Accuracy|last = Brant|first = Tom|date = June 2, 2016|access-date = June 2, 2016|publisher = PCMag}}
On February 8, 2017, Facebook introduced a Community Help feature to the Safety Check crisis response tool.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-safety-check-community-help-search-shelter-crisis/|title=Facebook will help you find food and shelter in emergencies|website=CNET|author=Alfred Ng|date=February 8, 2017|access-date=February 15, 2017}} It allows users to search through categorized posts, offer local assistance, and connect with providers over Facebook Messenger.{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/08/community-help/|title=Facebook Safety Check now lets locals find and offer Community Help like shelter|work=TechCrunch|author=Josh Constine|date=February 8, 2017|access-date=February 15, 2017}} In June 2017, Facebook announced several updates to Safety Check, including the Community Help feature coming to desktops. It was also made possible for users to start fundraisers from within Safety Check.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/14/facebooks-safety-check-will-integrate-fundraisers-among-other-upgrades/|title=Facebook's Safety Check will integrate fundraisers, among other upgrades {{!}} TechCrunch|last=Perez|first=Sarah|access-date=June 15, 2017}}
= Deployment in the context of the Nepal earthquake =
{{further|April 2015 Nepal earthquake}}
On Saturday, April 25, 2015, an earthquake struck Nepal, with an estimated loss of a few thousand lives. Within a few hours of the earthquake hitting, Facebook had activated Safety Check in the region.{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10102050030813611|title = This morning we activated Safety Check for people affected by the earthquake in Nepal.|last = Zuckerberg|first = Mark|date = April 25, 2015|access-date = April 27, 2015|publisher = Facebook}} It identified users as possibly being in the affected area by their current city as listed on their profile, as well as the place from which they had most recently accessed Facebook.{{cite web|url=http://www.mashable.com/2015/04/25/facebook-safety-check-nepal-earthquake/|title = Facebook Safety Check connects those affected by devastating Nepal earthquake|last = Levine|first = Brittany|date = April 25, 2015|access-date = April 27, 2015|website = Mashable}} The desktop version of Safety Check also provided a brief synopsis of the event and emergency contact numbers.
During the activation more than 7 million people in the affected area were marked safe, which generated notifications to over 150 million friends on the platform.{{Cite web|title = Mark Zuckerberg – Timeline Photos – Facebook|url = https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10102060884238261&set=a.612287952871.2204760.4&type=3&theater|website = Facebook|access-date = December 8, 2015}}
The tool was deployed again in the wake of the May 2015 Nepal earthquake, and received attention when some people outside the affected area were reported by Facebook as marked safe.
= Deployment during November Paris attacks =
Facebook deployed the feature during November 2015 Paris attacks.{{cite magazine|url = http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2015/11/13/facebook_safety_check_feature_used_during_paris_attacks.html|title = Facebook Has Enabled Its "Safety Check" Feature So People in Paris Can Tell Loved Ones They're OK|author = Lily Hay Newman|magazine = Slate|date = November 14, 2015|access-date = November 14, 2015}} This was the first time Facebook activated the feature for a violent attack (or any non-natural disaster), mentioning that the policy for activation and the product itself is an ongoing work in progress.{{cite web|url = https://www.facebook.com/fbsafety/posts/930229667014872|title = Facebook Safety Page Post | author = Alex Schultz |website = Facebook | date = November 14, 2015 | access-date = November 15, 2015}}
= Other deployments =
Reception
= Reception upon release =
Upon the release of Safety Check, Richard Lawler wrote in Engadget praising the tool, writing "[I]t can take some pressure off of overloaded infrastructure with everyone trying to call affected areas after disasters hit, and of course, save you from a post-tragedy chewing out for failure to let people know you're fine." On the flip side, he posited that Safety Check might be "a cagey way to try to take some of the creepiness out of the apps' location tracking features".{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2014/10/16/facebook-safety-check-in/|title = Facebook 'Safety Check' lets friends know you're OK after a major disaster|last = Lawler|first = Richard|date = October 16, 2014|access-date = April 27, 2015|website = Engadget}}
= Reception of deployment for April 2015 Nepal earthquake =
Commentators praised Facebook Safety Check in the wake of the April 2015 Nepal earthquake{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-safety-check-feature-nepal-earthquake-2015-4|title = Facebook has a brilliant feature that can help anyone who may be in danger from the Nepal earthquake|last = Eadicicco|first=Lisa|date = April 26, 2015|access-date = April 27, 2015|website = Business Insider}} and compared it to Google Person Finder, a tool by Google with a similar purpose.{{cite magazine|url=http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/googles-person-finder-and-facebooks-safety-app-to-help-locate-those-stranded-in-nepal-earthquake-264961.html|title = Google's 'Person Finder' and Facebook's 'Safety App' to help locate those stranded in Nepal earthquake|date = April 28, 2015|magazine = First Post|access-date = April 27, 2015}}{{cite magazine|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2015/04/25/after_nepal_earthquake_facebook_and_google_offer_safety_check_in_features.html|title = After Nepal Earthquake, Facebook and Google Offer Safety Check-In Features|last = Newman|first = Lily Hay|date = April 25, 2015|access-date = April 27, 2015|magazine = Slate}}{{cite news|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/nepal-earthquake-facebook-to-google-how-tech-is-helping-survivors-reach-out/|title = Nepal earthquake: How tech from Facebook to Google can help survivors|newspaper = Indian Express|date = April 27, 2015|access-date = April 27, 2015}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/04/27/how-google-and-facebook-are-finding-victims-of-the-nepal-earthquake/|title = How Google and Facebook are finding victims of the Nepal earthquake|last = Dewey|first = Caitlin|date = April 27, 2015|access-date = April 27, 2015|newspaper =The Washington Post}} However, commentators noted that due to low penetration of mobile devices and poor network connectivity in the region (which had worsened due to the earthquake), many of the people in the target audience of the tool would not be able to use it.{{cite news|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2015/0427/Facebook-Safety-Check-helps-users-locate-loved-ones-in-Nepal-video|title = Facebook Safety Check helps users locate loved ones in Nepal (+video). How social media is changing the face of disaster relief.|last = Lindsay|first = Rowena|date = April 27, 2015|access-date = April 27, 2015|newspaper =The Christian Science Monitor}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/04/telling-the-world-youre-safe-through-facebook/391484/|title = Updating Facebook to Say 'I'm Safe'. The social network activated its new 'Safety Check' service after Saturday's tragic earthquake.|date = April 25, 2015|access-date = April 27, 2015|last = Schiavenza|first = Matt|magazine = The Atlantic}} This was likened to similar problems faced by Google Person Finder during the 2010 Pakistan floods.
= Reception of deployment for May 2015 Nepal earthquake =
After the May 2015 Nepal earthquake, BuzzFeed reported that many users outside the geographical area affected by the earthquake were marking themselves as safe using the tool, and that this was angering other users who thought they were being insensitive to the toll and tragedy of the event.{{cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/rossalynwarren/people-living-in-britain-and-america-keep-marking-themselves|title = People Living in Britain And America Keep Marking Themselves As 'Safe' From Nepal's Earthquakes. 'This is social media at its worst.'|last = Warren|first = Rosalyn|date = May 13, 2015|access-date = May 14, 2015|website = BuzzFeed}} The story was picked up by other publications including the Huffington Post and fact-checking website Snopes, which noted that this was due to a bug in Facebook leading it to prompt people outside the affected area to confirm whether they were safe.{{cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/13/facebook-safety-check-nepal_n_7275802.html|title = People Are Abusing A Facebook Tool Meant To Help People in Nepal|last = McCormack|first = Simon|date = May 13, 2015|access-date = May 14, 2015|work = Huffington Post}}{{cite news|url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/576844/Facebook-Safety-Check-Nepal-earthquake-marked-declared-quake|title = Facebook Safety Check: Fury as users who aren't in Nepal mark themselves safe from quake|last = Campbell|first = Scott|date = May 13, 2015|access-date = May 14, 2015|newspaper = Express}}{{cite web|url=http://globalnews.ca/news/1996203/facebook-users-outside-of-nepal-criticized-for-using-safety-check-feature/|title = Facebook users outside of Nepal criticized for using 'Safety Check' feature|last = Bogart|first = Nicole|date = May 13, 2015|access-date = May 14, 2015|website = Global News}}