Apple Adds ‘Test Alerts’ Option to iPhone for US Emergency Alerts
With iOS 15.6 and the latest beta of iOS 16, Apple offers a new option on iPhone called “Test Alerts”. It is directly linked to emergency alerts (child abduction, natural disasters, etc.) sent by the US government.
By going to Settings > Notifications, anyone with an iPhone connected to a US carrier’s network can activate the “Test Alerts” option. As the name suggests, these are test alerts that can be sent from time to time, especially to make sure everything is working fine. This explains why the option is disabled by default.
It was already possible to enable test alerts on previous versions of iOS, but you had to install a special profile from Apple or dial a code in the Phone application. Here, the new option with iOS 15.6 or iOS 16 beta just makes it easier for users to choose to receive US government test alerts. Apple offers a dedicated page on its site.
This is an opportunity to recall the iPhones in France recently had FR-ALERT. This is a similar system for warning people in France, which complements the existing population alert systems by making it possible to alert, through telephones, of the nature and location of a danger or a threat, and to indicate the actions and behaviors to be adopted to guard against these dangers or to reduce exposure to the effects of these threats as much as possible.
