CUPERTINO, Ca – iPhone’s will soon be able to share your exact location data with 911.
Apple, along with start-up company Rapid S.O.S., will be able to calculate a caller’s location based on data collected from WIFI access points, nearby cellular towers, and GPS.
According to the National Emergency Number Association, more than 80% of calls made to 911 each year are from mobile devices but emergency responders only have a vague sense of where to send an ambulance, fire truck, or police car.
Rapid S.O.S. specializes in sharing a cell phone’s location information to the major programs used by emergency response departments.
Apple says the feature will be available in its next iPhone software update later this year.