Emergency contacts and lock-screen medical information can help a responder or bystander act when the phone owner cannot explain. They also create a privacy decision: information shown while locked may be visible to anyone holding the device.
Set up the record with the phone owner, not for them. Confirm every detail and ask each listed contact whether they agree to the role.
Decide what belongs in the record
Include information that could change emergency care: name, serious allergies, essential conditions, current medicines, relevant implanted devices, and two reachable contacts. Use exact medicine names if known rather than “heart pills.”
Do not guess blood type, diagnosis, or dosage. Leave uncertain fields blank until they can be checked against a prescription list or clinical record. Avoid unnecessary identifiers such as government numbers, insurance passwords, or a full home alarm code.
Set up Medical ID on iPhone
- Open Health and tap the profile picture.
- Tap Medical ID, then Get Started or Edit.
- Enter only verified medical details.
- Under Emergency Contacts, add a person from Contacts and select the relationship.
- Review Show When Locked and Share During Emergency Call based on privacy preference and regional availability.
- Tap Done.
Apple states that automatic sharing with emergency responders is not available everywhere. Lock-screen access and contact notifications also depend on settings and service availability.
Add emergency information on Android
Android paths vary by manufacturer. Search Settings for Safety & emergency, Emergency information, or open the Safety / Personal Safety app if available.
In Google's current flow, open Safety, tap Your info, then add Medical information and Emergency contacts. Review Emergency info access > Show when locked. Samsung and other devices may use a different menu and offer different sharing features.
Do not install an unrelated app merely because the built-in labels differ. Check the manufacturer's official support page for that model.
Choose contacts who can act
Select people likely to answer, understand the owner's preferences, and communicate with each other. Geography matters, but so do availability and reliability. One nearby contact and one family decision-maker may be more useful than five people who assume someone else will respond.
Tell each person:
- They are listed as an emergency contact.
- Which phone number alerts may come from.
- Whether location updates could be shared after SOS.
- Whom to call next if they cannot respond.
- Where a current medication or care document is kept.
An emergency contact is not automatically a legal healthcare proxy. Legal authority depends on local documents and law.
Make a deliberate privacy choice
| Information | Benefit | Privacy consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency contact | Gives responders someone to call | Name and relationship may show while locked |
| Serious allergy | Can affect urgent treatment | Reveals health information |
| Medication list | Helps explain risks and interactions | May be long and become outdated |
| Home address | Useful in some contexts | Usually unnecessary on a lock screen |
| Organ-donor preference | May support local processes | Availability and legal effect vary |
Showing information while locked improves access but reduces secrecy. The owner decides that tradeoff.
Test from the locked screen
Lock the phone. On iPhone, open the passcode screen, tap Emergency, then Medical ID. On Android, use Emergency call or Emergency information according to the device. Do not place a real emergency call.
Check that the name, allergies, medicines, and contact numbers are readable and correct. Then unlock normally and confirm the record can be edited by the owner.
Keep clinical documents separate
The phone record is a concise emergency summary, not a complete care plan. Maintain a fuller medication list with doses, prescribers, pharmacy, conditions, and advance-care documents in the location recommended by the owner's care team. A printable copy can help when a battery is dead.
Do not photograph sensitive documents into an unprotected gallery if a secure health record or password-protected storage is available.
Review after every meaningful change
Set a calendar reminder every six months and update sooner after a medicine, diagnosis, phone number, relationship, or device change. Remove contacts who no longer agree or cannot respond.
Finally, explain that Medical ID does not summon help. It supplies information once someone accesses the phone or an emergency feature shares it. Calling the local emergency number remains the direct action in an emergency.