Facebook has a feature called Safety Check that allows users to if their friends are okay in the event of a natural disaster, or more recently, a terrorist attack. Unfortunately, this feature requires Facebook to personally activate it before it can be used. That may no longer be the case as Facebook plans to make Safety Check to be triggered by the community.
In a statement issued by Facebook, Safety Check will be updated to activate if a large number of people post about an incident happening in the affected area. Once triggered, Facebook will ask the person posting the status if they’re okay. If they are, Facebook would mark them safe, and the person can then invite their friends to do the same.
Alongside the new Safety Check feature, Facebook will also be bringing a Community Help feature only. This feature will allow users to “give and get help for things like food, shelter and supplies.”
No timeline was given as to when the modified Safety Check feature and the Community Help feature will go online, but when it does, keeping track of your friend’s safety would be much more convenient than it is right now.
Source: The Next Web