Emergency tools for travelling abroad
Travel puts you in the one situation where the basics stop being automatic: you do not know the emergency number, you cannot read the street signs, your data plan is off, and the people who would worry about you are in a different time zone.
None of that requires a dramatic emergency to become a problem. A missed connection in an unfamiliar city is enough.
What actually comes up
You do not know the emergency number
The app detects the country from your SIM and shows the local emergency number. The full directory covers more than 130 countries and is stored offline, so you can check it before you land or after you arrive.
Tools involved
Roaming is off and you need a map
Download the area around your hotel, the airport or a hiking route over hotel Wi-Fi, then browse it with your GPS position on top without turning data on.
Tools involved
Someone at home needs to know where you are
An SOS sends your coordinates by SMS to the contacts you saved. The I’m Safe check-in does the reverse — a one-tap all-clear when plans change.
Tools involved
You cannot explain your medical history
Blood type, allergies and medications are stored on the device and travel with your SOS alert. Language barriers make this considerably more valuable than it sounds at home.
Tools involved
Before you go
The preparation that has to happen in advance, because none of it can be done in the moment you need it.
- Save two or three emergency contacts before you leave
- Fill in your medical information, especially allergies and medications
- Download map areas for each destination while on hotel Wi-Fi
- Check the emergency number for every country on your route
- Carry a power bank — every tool here runs on the same battery
Answers
Travel: common questions
Will the app work abroad without a data plan?
The offline parts will: emergency numbers, first aid, compass, flashlight, battery monitor and any map area you downloaded in advance. GPS works too, since it is satellite-based. Sending an SOS text needs cell signal and an active roaming or local plan.
Does it work with a local SIM?
Yes, and country detection improves — the app reads the country from whichever SIM is active, so swapping to a local SIM updates the emergency number it shows.
Can I send an SOS while roaming?
If your plan allows outgoing SMS while roaming, yes. Check that before you travel, since some prepaid plans restrict it. The alert is a normal text message from your number.
Related features
- Emergency numbersEmergency numbers for more than 130 countries, detected from your SIM and stored on the device.
- Offline mapsCache an OpenStreetMap region while you have a connection, then browse it with your position on top when you do not.
- SOS alertsA deliberate three-second countdown, then an SMS with your coordinates, a siren, and a location log.
- Medical informationBlood type, allergies, medications and conditions — stored on your device and attached to SOS alerts.
Related guides
- Emergency preparedness checklist for travellersTravel removes the things you normally rely on without noticing: knowing the emergency number, reading the signs, having a working data plan.
- What to do when you lose cell serviceLosing signal is not the same as losing your phone. A surprising amount still works, and there are specific things worth trying before you give up on getting a message out.
Get the Emergency Toolkit
Free on Google Play. No account, no subscription, and the core tools keep working when the signal does not.
- 4.8 MB download
- Android 8.0+
- No account required