London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

How to add an emergency contact on your iPhone, and what they're used for

How to add an emergency contact on your iPhone, and what they're used for

Your emergency contacts appear on your iPhone's Medical ID, and receive a text if you use the Emergency SOS feature.

Over the last few years, Apple has put a lot of work into turning their smart devices into full-fledged medical assistants. You can track your heart rate, count calories, and even automatically call for help after a car crash.

And although it's not as fancy, there's also a useful feature that lets you add anyone you want as an "emergency contact." Here's how the system works, and how to use it.


How the iPhone's emergency contact system works


The iPhone's emergency contact system is pretty simple. To add someone as your emergency contact, they need to be saved to your iPhone's Contacts list with a cellphone number.

Adding someone as an emergency contact won't send them any sort of notification. But if you ever use your iPhone's Emergency SOS feature, which lets you quickly call emergency services, your contact will receive a text message with your current location.

And any emergency contact you add will also be listed on your iPhone's Medical ID, the digital card that holds your most important medical information for first responders to view.


How to add an emergency contact on your iPhone


There are two ways to add an emergency contact: Using the Health app, or the Settings app.


The Health app


1. Open the Health app and tap Browse in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

2. Tap your Apple ID picture in the top-right corner, and then Medical ID.

Open your Health app's Medical ID menu.


3. Tap Edit in the top-right.

4. Scroll down to the Emergency Contacts section and tap add emergency contact.

Add your emergency contact by tapping the green plus sign option.


5. Choose someone from your Contacts list and specify how they're related to you.

6. Repeat this for all the contacts you want to add, and then tap Done in the top-right.

To delete an emergency contact, head back to the Medical ID menu and tap Edit, and then tap the red minus sign next to the contact you're removing.


The Settings app


1. Open the Settings app and scroll down to tap Health.

2. Tap Medical ID, and then Edit in the top-right corner.

The Settings app has this menu too.


3. Scroll down and tap add emergency contact.

4. Pick someone from your Contacts list and select how they're related to you.

5. Repeat this for all the contacts you want to add, and then tap Done in the top-right.

You can also delete emergency contacts by editing your Medical ID again and tapping the red minus sign next to the contact you want to remove.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×