Google has activated its Emergency Location Service (ELS) on Android devices in India, marking a major step forward in improving the speed and accuracy of emergency response services.

“Google has announced the activation of Emergency Location Service (ELS) in Android in India, with Uttar Pradesh becoming the first state to fully integrate enhanced caller location into its 112 emergency services,” the company said in a statement.

What is Emergency Location Service (ELS)?

ELS is a built-in safety feature on Android phones that automatically shares a caller’s precise location with emergency responders when a user makes a 112 call or sends an emergency SMS.

The system does not require users to install any additional apps or hardware. It activates automatically during emergencies.

The service uses a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi and mobile network signals to determine the caller’s location, with an accuracy of up to 50 metres. This multi-signal approach allows emergency services to locate callers whether they are indoors, outdoors or moving.

The technology is powered by Android’s machine learning–based Fused Location Provider, which improves location accuracy across different environments.

ELS is especially useful in critical situations where calls drop soon after connecting. Even if a call disconnects within seconds, the system can still transmit the caller’s location to emergency responders, enabling faster assistance.

Before its full rollout in Uttar Pradesh, the feature was pilot tested for several months with positive outcomes. During this period, ELS supported more than 20 million emergency calls and SMS messages, successfully identifying caller locations even when calls disconnected shortly after being placed.

Which states support ELS right now?

Uttar Pradesh has become the first state in India to fully integrate ELS with its 112 emergency services. Once an emergency call is made, the caller’s location is instantly visible to responders through the UP112 command system, along with routing intelligence provided by Pertsol.

This allows authorities to quickly assess whether police, medical or fire services are required and dispatch help without delay.

Google said ELS has been designed with strong privacy protections. The service activates only during emergency calls, is free to use, and does not collect or store user location data.

Importantly, location information is sent directly from the user’s phone to emergency services and is not collected or stored by Google.

Who can use this feature?

ELS works on all compatible Android devices running Android version 6.0 and above. No user action is required once the feature is enabled at the system level.

As the rollout expands beyond Uttar Pradesh, the service is expected to significantly improve emergency response times across India by helping first responders reach people in distress faster.