Whether you’re someone who has a medical issue or not, there is a way you can let people know about key facts relating to your health records should you ever be unconscious or unable to speak after an incident.

The feature is available to use on iPhones and Android mobile phones and could be crucial in letting passersby or emergency service crews know more about you if you’re unable to communicate with them.

So, while you might think you’ll never need to use the feature, here’s how you can set up your emergency contacts just in case.

How to set up your health information on iPhone

To set up your health information so it can be accessed when an iPhone is locked, you’ll need to head to the Health app which is installed on Apple products automatically.

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You can add as much information as you’d like and your medical ID can be edited as and when you want to change it.

How to find medical ID on iPhone

If you have an iPhone, the feature allows you or someone else to access your emergency contacts as well as some personal information in case of an emergency without having to unlock your phone.

So, if someone doesn’t know the passcode and is unable to ask you for it, they can access the information they need and even make phone calls without getting into your phone.

If your phone can’t be unlocked, here’s how your emergency information can be accessed:

  • Open the phone screen as if you are going to unlock it.
  • In the bottom left corner, you will see ‘emergency’ – click on this.
  • You’ll now see the keypad which will allow you to make an emergency call – this could be used to call emergency services.
  • In the bottom left corner, you’ll see medical ID – click on this to see the phone owner’s information including their name, age, weight and height as well as emergency contacts.

You can add the medications you take, your blood type, any allergies or medical conditions you have.

The phone numbers of the emergency contacts will be included here so you can call these people if needed.

You can also add a picture of yourself which will help identify that the phone belongs to you.

How to prepare for an emergency on Android

If you have an Android phone, there is also a way to share your medical information and emergency contacts.

The Personal Safety app is available on some devices and you can download it in the Play Store.

In your list of apps, it will show up as the Safety app and you can sign in using your Google account, according to Google.

To add your information, you can click on ‘Your info’ and add information to the medical information and emergency contacts sections.

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You can also set up Emergency SOS on Android devices (with Android 12 or later) which can “trigger emergency actions like calling for help, sharing your location with your emergency contacts, and recording video.”

For Car Crash Detection to work, your phone will need to have a SIM and it won’t work when your phone is in airplane mode or if Battery Saver is turned on.

You can find out more about the emergency features on Android via the Android Help section on Google.