Russia Ukraine War: Google Launches Air Raid Alerts To Alert Ukrainians About Air Strikes

Search giant Google is rolling out Air Raid alerts on Android phones in Ukraine. This is said to act as a supplement to the country’s existing air raid alert systems and will be based on alerts provided by the government. The company will also highlight the Ukrainian Alarm app on Google Play Store for users in the war-struck country. “Tragically, millions of people in Ukraine now rely on air strike alerts to try to get to safety. At the request, and with the help, of the government of Ukraine, we’ve started rolling out a rapid Air Raid Alerts system for Android phones in Ukraine,” Google said in a blog post.

The company’s VP of engineering for Android announced the launch of these Air Raid alerts on his Twitter, where he also mentioned that the system leverages the same low latency alert mechanism that the company built for earthquake alerts. “The system leverages our low latency alert mechanism we built for earthquake alerts. The air raid system is supplemental to, and shares the same triggers used for, the country’s existing air raid alert systems,” Dave Burke said in a tweet.