The goal is not to provide more information, but to make the right information available quickly
Android phones and iPhones can display medical information and emergency contacts without unlocking the device. If you are unconscious, it may be helpful for others to know about an allergy, an important medical condition, or a relative they should call. In exchange, anything you show on the lock screen can also be seen by anyone who picks up the phone. For that reason, prepare the emergency card not as a summary of your entire medical history, but as a short list of the current information genuinely needed for initial care.
First, consult a health care professional about which details are critical. Blood type, serious allergies, important medical conditions, essential medications taken regularly, and emergency contacts are common fields, but a phone entry is not a substitute for a professional medical document. Do not enter a diagnosis or dosage you are unsure about. Instead of recording a medication under an ambiguous abbreviation, use its verifiable name and update the entry whenever it changes.
Do not add information that is unnecessary for initial care, such as an identification number, full home address, insurance account, banking details, a photograph of a document, or a health portal password. Instead of writing a long message such as “I have this condition” directly on the lock screen, use the operating system's emergency information section. This provides access without unnecessarily exposing your regular notification view.
Set up emergency information on Android
According to Google's current Android help, menus and features may vary by manufacturer, country, and version. The general path is Settings > Safety & emergency or the Safety/Personal Safety app available on the device. Complete the medical information fields under “Your info,” then select at least one emergency contact from your contacts. Pay particular attention to the “Show when locked” option or a similarly named access setting. If this option is off, entering the information does not mean that a first responder will be able to see it from the lock screen.
Google explicitly states that emergency information displayed on the lock screen can be viewed by anyone who picks up the phone. You therefore do not have to complete every field. A serious allergy, for example, may be relevant to initial care, while your height or complete address may be unnecessary. If your manufacturer offers a separate health app, test which record is connected to the lock screen. The profile in the app and the system's emergency card may not contain the same data.
You can also configure Emergency SOS separately. On Android 12 and later, pressing the power button a certain number of times may initiate actions such as a call, location sharing, or video recording, but feature availability varies by country, device, and carrier. Google also notes that Airplane mode or Battery Saver may prevent some SOS functions from working. Use the device's demonstration or practice option during a drill to avoid accidentally calling the real emergency services, and learn beforehand how to cancel the countdown.
Create a Medical ID on iPhone
On your iPhone, open the Health app, tap your profile picture, and then tap Medical ID. Use Edit to add important information and emergency contacts. The “Show When Locked” option allows the card to be opened from the Emergency screen without entering the passcode. According to Apple, Medical ID is optional, and the user decides how to balance safety and privacy.
If you see advanced sharing options such as “Share During Emergency Call,” remember that they do not work in every country and region. Apple's documentation says that automatic sharing of medical information with emergency services depends on regional availability. Do not assume that the same integration is available in Turkey or in a country you visit. A Medical ID displayed locally on the lock screen and data sent automatically to emergency call center infrastructure are two separate functions.
Choose emergency contacts you trust, who check their phones regularly, and who can provide accurate information about your medical condition. Remove outdated records such as a former spouse, a friend who has left your workplace, or a number you no longer use. In Apple's SOS process, the selected contacts may receive your location after an emergency call, and subsequent location changes may be shared for a period of time. Tell the people you select about this role in advance.
Test the lock screen with another person
After completing the setup, lock the phone and test the access route without using your face or fingerprint. On Android, find the Emergency button on the lock screen. On iPhone, locate Emergency and Medical ID on the passcode screen. Because the location of these buttons can vary by model and version, confirm that someone you trust can also find and read the card.
Answer these four questions: Is the critical allergy clearly visible? Are the medication and dosage details current? Does tapping the emergency contact call the correct number? Is any unnecessary personal information exposed? If your phone is paired with a watch, check how the information appears on the watch as well.
Complete the calling drill without placing a call to the real emergency services. If you call accidentally, do not hang up and remain silent; tell the operator that the call was made by mistake. Otherwise, they may need to assess the possibility of a genuine emergency. Also test whether children or older family members can safely perform the required physical button action on their devices.
Manage the record as living information
Create a reminder every three or six months. Update the record immediately whenever a medication, allergy, doctor's recommendation, phone number, or relationship changes. When moving to a new phone, do not assume the information was restored from your backup; test its lock-screen visibility again. Before selling the phone or giving it to someone else, include the Medical ID, emergency contacts, and Health app data in your deletion plan.
Also consider a low-tech backup such as a paper emergency card, a medical alert bracelet, or a current list carried by a relative. The phone's battery may run out, its screen may break, or the device may not be with you when an incident occurs. The most robust arrangement is to keep a carefully limited digital card up to date without making the phone the sole repository of critical information.