Related Articles
Jason Cipriani/CNET
Finding yourself in a dangerous situation is something none of us ever want to go through. But bad things happen, unfortunately, and being prepared is the best way to stay safe.
As such, if you own a Galaxy S6 or S6 Edge, take three minutes of your time and set up the SOS Messages feature right now.
When triggered, SOS will send an audio clip, a picture from both the front and back camera, as well as a Google Maps link to your exact location to a contact (or contacts) of your choosing. Triggering it is very discreet, requiring you to press the power button three times in rapid succession.
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
To enable the feature, launch the Settings app on your S6. Under the Personal tab, find and select Privacy and Safety. On the next screen, tap on Send SOS Messages.
Slide the switch to the On position, accept the terms and select a contact from your address book. The terms are nothing more than an explanation stating using the SOS feature is not a substitute for contacting the proper authorities.
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET
Once you have a contact set and SOS turned on, you can disable the audio or photo portion of the app. Personally, I can’t think of a time when you would want to use this feature and not have either piece of information missing from an alert.
Once you’ve triggered the feature, your phone will vibrate and the screen will light up for a moment. Other than those two cues, any would be bad guy would have no idea you’d just sent a call for help.
