Facebook has just launched a new app called Safety Check, and it's meant to tell your friends and family in your network that you're fine despite the disaster.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, formally talked about the new feature on Thursday, October 16. The app was developed by the social network's Japanese engineers right after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed over 15,000 people and displaced many families.
The tool works in a very simple manner: it sends out notifications to loved ones whether you're safe or not in the affected area. The Facebook team will be working closely with authorities so they will be able to determine which types of disasters can be included in the Safety Check.
Once you have the app, it immediately determines your location based on the data you have provided in your Facebook profile. It then determines whether there is a disaster near or within your area.
If the location matches the origin of the disaster, the system that asks you a question whether you're okay or not. Subsequently, it opens to a new page where you have to choose between I'm Safe and I'm Not in the Area. If you click Safe, the choice then becomes part of your status message, so it can be easily read by friends and family as well as shared to others.
In your Safety Check app, you can also see members of your network who may also be in the affected area and monitor them, whether they are safe or not marked safe. You can also search friends in Safety Check, especially if they happen not to be part of your friends list.
Aside from sharing your status, friends and family can also like the post and place a comment.
In spite of the novelty and the usefulness of the app, it remains to be basic. Users, for example, may not be able to immediately tell if they require assistance or someone they know do. They may be able to do it by posting it manually as a status.
