An emergency SOS feature on iPhones has gone viral on social media after it was highlighted as a way of helping to keep women safe.
The little-known feature – which uses the iPhone lock button to sound a siren, as well as contact the emergency services and the emergency contacts saved in the phone’s address book – has been shared by thousands of people on both Twitter and Instagram over the last 24 hours.
The feature has gone viral following the tragic disappearance of Sarah Everard.
The 33-year-old Marketing Executive vanished after leaving a friend’s house in Clapham at about 9pm last Wednesday and beginning a 50-minute walk home to Brixton.
Since her disappearance – which has been widely reported on in global news outlets – a serving Metropolitan Police officer has been arrested for her suspected kidnap and murder, and investigators searching for her confirmed yesterday evening that human remains had been found in woodland in Ashford, Kent – although the remains have not yet been identified.
A woman was also arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Since Ms Everard was reported as missing, social media has been flooded with women sharing their personal experiences of safety fears when out in public, particularly at night, alongside tips they have picked up to help protect themselves.
The iPhone Emergency SOS feature is one safety hack that’s been described by some as a “life-saver”.
Please share this far & wide. Feel so sad about the #SarahEverard news and can’t even begin to imagine how her family & friends are feeling right now ❤️ pic.twitter.com/sYixcMXSnL
If you press your lock button 5 times in a row, your iPhone makes a loud siren, counts down to 3, calls emergency services, then texts your emergency contacts alerting them of the situation and your location. Search ‘Emergency SOS’ to set up #Shewaswalkinghome#SarahEverard
So, how exactly does the feature work then? What does it do? How can it be set up?
The description for the Emergency SOS feature on the Apple website reads: “When you make a call with SOS, your iPhone will call the local emergency number automatically. In some countries and regions, you may need to choose the service that you need.
“You can also add emergency contacts [meaning that] after an emergency call has finished, your iPhone can alert your emergency contacts with a text message, unless you choose to cancel this option [and] your iPhone then sends them your current location, and, for a period of time when you have entered SOS mode, it sends updates to your emergency contacts when your location changes”.
Got an iPhone 8 model or later? Here’s how to activate Emergency SOS:
Press and hold the side button and one of the volume buttons until the ‘Emergency SOS’ slider appears.
Drag the ‘Emergency SOS slider’ to call emergency services. If you continue to hold down the side button and volume button, instead of dragging the slider, a countdown will start and an alert will sound. If you hold down the buttons until the countdown has finished, your iPhone will automatically call the emergency services.
If you have an iPhone 7 model or earlier, here’s how to activate Emergency SOS:
Rapidly press the side (or top) button five times and the ‘Emergency SOS slider’ will appear.
Drag the ‘Emergency SOS’ slider to call emergency services.
After the call has finished, your iPhone will send your emergency contacts a text message with your current location, unless you choose to cancel this option and in the instance that ‘Location Services’ is off, it will temporarily turn on.
If your location changes, your contacts will get an update and you’ll get a notification about 10 minutes later.
Chatting with girlfriends about being afraid to walk home at night in London after the disappearance of Sarah Everard. One pointed out that it’s important to set up the emergency SOS feature and add emergency contacts if you have an iPhone. Sharing in case it’s useful for anyone.
If you have an iPhone 8 model or later, you can also choose how you make the emergency call by pressing the side button five times.
Here’s how to change the setting:
Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
Tap ‘Emergency SOS’.
Turn ‘Call with Side Button’ on or off – Pressing and holding the side button along with the volume button will continue to work when this is on.
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You can find more information and FAQs about how to set up iPhone’s Emergency SOS feature via the Apple website here.
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Nearly a quarter of Brits are making cups of tea ‘all wrong’, new survey reveals
Emily Sergeant
A new survey has found that a staggering 127 million cups of tea are drunk in Britain each year, but apparently, a quarter of us are making them ‘all wrong’.
Nothing is arguably more British than a brew, right?
Whether you take it builder’s, milky, with sugar or sweetener, decaf, green, or even herbal, popping the kettle on and making a brew can be a sacred daily ritual for us tea-loving Brits, with everyone having their own personal tastes and preferences on how to make it the perfect cup.
But what is the correct way to make a cup of tea? Now that’s up for debate, but after finding out that nearly three quarters (72%) of Brits drink an average of four cups a day, Aldi has commissioned some new research to try and get to the bottom of it once and for all, and has polled the nation to discover what really does make the perfect cuppa.
Apparently, 78% of the population is so passionate about a good brew that they have to give exact instructions to someone if they offer to make them a cup.
A new survey has revealed that nearly a quarter of Brits are making cups of tea ‘all wrong’ / Credit: PickPik
English Breakfast tea was found to be the go-to choice of tea, with 67% of survey respondents calling it their favourite, but there does appear to be a bit of discrepancy when it comes to how to make it though – as 78% say they like to add the water first before letting the bag stew for two minutes to achieve the ultimate ‘toffee brown’ shade.
Almost half (49%) agreed that a splash of semi-skimmed milk should then be added to help bring the temperature down, and two in five (38%) prefer no sugar in their liquid gold… but that’s where the similarities seem to end.
According to Aldi’s research, almost a quarter (22%) of people are making their tea ‘wrong’ by putting the milk in first.
“It’s clear that tea remains a very important part of our lives, with the average Brit consuming a staggering 1,460 cups a year,” commented etiquette consultant, Jo Bryant.
“I’m with the majority, as I love a cup of English Breakfast tea, freshly-brewed for around two minutes, with a moderate amount of milk, and it’s always tea first, milk last – it is good manners when making someone else a cup of tea to check how they like it.
“Most people simply ask about milk and sugar, but it is better tea-making etiquette to also enquire about strength and any other preferences.
“Try to take the time to make perfect brews for friends, colleagues and family, and make sure you remember just how they like it for next time.”
Featured Image – Flickr
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Levi’s are the latest fashion brand to launch an Oasis collection
Danny Jones
In case you missed it amid the tidal wave of merch currently flooding our feeds and shops everywhere, global fashion brand Levi’s has become the latest label to launch an Oasis collection.
With the Live ’25 world tour now officially underway, it feels like not only are Oasis back on top, but that there’s a large-scale Britpop revival happening here in the UK and overseas.
In terms of fashion, the 1990s and early 2000s style has been steadily making its way into contemporary culture once again in recent years, but with seemingly every big name trying to hop on the marketing machine that is the Oasis reunion bandwagon, you can’t move for crossover.
Be they official collaborations like the one with Manchester City, adidas Originals; American fashion brand Abercrombie & Fitch bashing out merch, or a local t-shirt maker on Bury Market, that famous logo is absolutely everywhere – cue Levi’s latest launch:
Releasing just five or five main pieces (not including individual item variations), Levi’s Oasis gear has been kept pretty straightforward, simply relying on a less is more philosophy and the quality that the denim specialists are renowned for.
Nevertheless, there is an undeniably 90s feel to the approach.
As well as the standard Oasis band tee design, available in the brand’s main red, white and blue colour, as well as black, white and light blue – the Manchester City influences never stray too far, after all – there are a couple of other types of tee.
However, while we’re sure plenty of people might have a penchant for the parka, the undeniable star of the show for us is the Type II Trucker Jacket with the group’s name and ‘Live Forever’ stitched on the breast pocket.
Still, at £170, these sure-to-be collectors’ items don’t come cheap, and that’s not even the most expensive in the Levi’s x Oasis collection. Regardless, if you fancy treating yourself, you can find them here in Manchester and at the likes of The Trafford Centre.
Any of it pique your interest?
Don’t worry if not because, as mentioned, there is absolutely tonnes of Oasis clobber at various different price points all over the place at the minute.
Emily Sergeant -
12th March 2021 
