--- description: Facebook announced a new app on Wednesday that asks users in the proximity of a disaster zone, 'Are you safe,' and instantly notifies anxious loved ones. title: Facebook Lets You Tell Your Friends You're Safe During an Emergency image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e0756daff2ffbcf/6987610ce20a876040a827e4/safetycheck1.png?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Facebook's New Tool Lets You Tell Your Friends You're Safe During an Emergency ## Video: Facebook’s Personalized Ads Draw Privacy Skeptics [Watch (HLS stream): Facebook’s Personalized Ads Draw Privacy Skeptics](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Bx3D3vWH.m3u8) (1:31)  _Published 2014-06-13. Facebook has announced yet another round of changes, and this move might be the most controversial yet. The social media company will begin tracking users’ mobile and web browsing habits in order to better serve up custom advertisements._  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 16, 2014 3:12 PM CUT  Facebook  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 16, 2014 3:12 PM CUT Facebook [announced](http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/10/introducing-safety-check/ "undefined") a new app Wednesday that asks users in the proximity of a disaster zone if they’re safe and instantly notifies anxious loved ones of the user’s response. The new app, Safety Check, was the brainchild of Facebook’s Japanese engineers, who noticed a surge of communication across the social network after the 2011 tsunami battered coastal communities. The new app streamlines that process by taking note of the user’s home city and reaching out in the event of a natural disaster in the area with the text message, “Are you Okay?” A “yes” will be instantly communicated out to loved ones via their Facebook News Feeds. “We hope it’s a tool that helps you stay connected to those you care about,” Facebook [said](http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2014/10/introducing-safety-check/ "undefined") in a statement announcing the new feature, “and gives you the comfort of knowing your loved ones are safe.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3513016/facebook-safety-check/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3513016/facebook-safety-check/"},"headline":"Facebook's New Tool Lets You Tell Your Friends You're Safe During an Emergency","datePublished":"2014-10-16T15:12:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:03:25.719Z","description":"The app instantly updates loved ones of your status","url":"https://time.com/3513016/facebook-safety-check/","keywords":["Tech","apps","facebook"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e0756daff2ffbcf/6987610ce20a876040a827e4/safetycheck1.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5e0756daff2ffbcf/6987610ce20a876040a827e4/safetycheck1.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SafetyCheck1","caption":"","creditText":"Facebook","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3513016/facebook-safety-check/","name":"Facebook's New Tool Lets You Tell Your Friends You're Safe During an Emergency"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Facebook’s Personalized Ads Draw Privacy Skeptics","description":"Facebook has announced yet another round of changes, and this move might be the most controversial yet. 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