The world was shocked when Russia invaded Ukraine. Dozens of people died including innocent civilians and children.
Ukrainian government officials are doing everything they can to protect the population, including asking local and international companies for support, like they called gaming companies to ban Russia.
Many big companies like Apple and Amazon have already stopped sales within Russia, each citing “logistical problems” as the cause without any further explanation. Even Reddit also bans all links to the Russian state.
Google had already been quick to respond by disabling ads on Russian TV stations’ YouTube channels.
But now it’s taking things one step further for Android users in Ukraine.
It’s launching an early warning system, the Ukrainian Alarm App[Повітряна тривога], that will alert people when bombs or ammunition are dropped or fired in their vicinity.
These alerts are sent to people in areas where an attack is imminent. The company states that it is using its Maps technology to find users who are close to a specific location of probable attacks.
In an updated blog post on March 10, Google said:
At the request, and with the help, of the government of Ukraine, we’ve started rolling out a rapid Air Raid Alerts system for Android phones in Ukraine.
Also:
Tragically, millions of people in Ukraine now rely on airstrike alerts to try to get to safety.
How to Enable the Air Raid Alert?
Most Ukrainians will receive this service free of charge and will not need to do anything to receive the messages. However, to activate this function on their phone, they must first enable location tracking and have connected to the internet at least once after installing the latest version of Google Play Services. This rollout is expected to be complete within a week.
On Android 12:
- Go to Settings
- Go to Safety & Emergency
- Enable Ukraine air raid alerts
On Android 5-12:
- Go to Location
- Find Location Services
- Enable Ukraine air raid alerts
Google has more to say:
Dave Burke of Google, on Twitter, who is responsible for the Android system, says that the new system has begun to roll out. He says that it will target all Android phones in Ukraine over the next few days.
The system starts rolling out today and will ramp up to target all Android phones in Ukraine over the next few days. Thankful to our eng/product/UX teams for racing to get to a soln in short order. 3/3
— Dave Burke (@davey_burke) March 10, 2022
Apart from that, Google has said that hotels in Ukraine can display on their Business Profile whether they’re offering free or discounted accommodation to refugees.
The air raid warning system has been launched on Android smartphones
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) March 14, 2022
Recently, #Google in cooperation with the #Ukrainian government announced the creation of an air alert system for #Android users in #Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/TjyEaVP5j5
In addition, local businesses can post their Business Profile on Search and Maps to offer various services and aid to refugees from Ukraine. Google said that it will make it possible for users to find places offering refuge quickly on Google Search and Maps.
Let’s just hope that the situation between Russia and Ukraine gets better!