Google Launches Android Air Raid Alerts To Notify Of Attacks In Ukraine

Google has announced it will be introducing an Air Raid Alerts system to Android smartphones in Ukraine, as part of its efforts to aid citizens facing the ongoing Russian invasion.

The company’s system is meant to supplement the country’s existing alerts, and will be based on notifications sent out by the government.

“Tragically, millions of people in Ukraine now rely on air strike alerts to try to get to safety,” said Kent Walker, President of Global Affairs at Google.

“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.”

According to Dave Burke, Google’s Vice President of Engineering, the new notifications will leverage the firm’s in-built low latency alert mechanism used to detect earthquakes.

“The system starts rolling out today and will ramp up to target all Android phones in Ukraine over the next few days,” Burke said on Twitter.

Additionally, the technology giant says that apart from pausing Google advertisements in Russia, it has now halted most of its commercial activities in the nation. 

This includes stopping advertisements for properties, new Cloud sign-ups, and even payment functionality for its services. Free services such as Search, Gmail, and YouTube are still in operation.

[via TechCrunch and Google, cover image via Proxima Studio / Shutterstock.com]