How does the SOS button work?

The round red button on the map sends an alert to every member of your family circles, with your position. After a ten-second countdown, which you can cancel with a swipe, the alert goes out and their phones ring, loudly and repeatedly, until an adult of the circle takes charge.

What happens next, in order:

1. Your people are alerted and see your position on the map, even if your sharing was off, for the duration of the alert.
2. A guardian or an adult taps “I’m taking charge”: the ringing stops for everyone and you see who is looking after you.
3. If nobody has seen the alert after two minutes, Fenzly sends an SMS to every member with a verified number. The SMS says your position is in the app; it never contains the position itself. Your screen then offers to call someone close or the emergency services.

A false alarm is cancelled from the alert screen: members are told. With no network, the app says so plainly, puts calling first, and keeps the alert queued to send it as soon as the connection is back.

Your position stays end-to-end encrypted: the server knows an alert happened, when, who was alerted and who took charge, never where you are. The SOS button does not replace the emergency services: in immediate danger, call first. The guide Using the SOS button covers the setup and the receiving side.