Safety check can now be triggered by 1.2 billing Facebook users spread across the globe. So now the social giant will no longer manually control safety check or decide which events to turn it on for.
Now with safety check in the hands of local community, the decision of whether or not an event should be considered an emergency lies in hands of the people who are in that area and hence have the better judgment. In case, safety check is triggered and uses choose to ignore it, then the tool will just fade away and Facebook will not consider it an absolute emergency.
Anytime safety check is triggered, it sends out a message to Facebook users of immediate danger either in the form on natural disasters such as hurricanes, or for man-made disasters such as a terrorist attack. Using safety check, Facebook users can notify their friends and family that they are safe. However, lately Facebook has heavily criticized for its selective response when it came to activating the Safety Check tool. However, with this move now, the social giant has effectively cut down any reason for further criticism of its controlling safety check.
In addition to this news, the company is also testing a new feature called Community Help which is meant to be like an extension to the safety check feature. Facebook wants to create a dedicated space that users can access to post requirements for shelter, food or supplies, or alternatively, users can go ahead and provide any of the resources that are in need.
Facebook will test Community Help in December and is expecting to announce a global launch early next year.
