How your iOS device can maintain your good health and even save your life

Our iPhones are used to bail us out in a multitude of different areas on a daily basis. We can text loved ones to let them know we’ll be late home, order food or transport or even quickly look up information to settle petty disputes. But our iOS devices can also save our lives in a literal sense too.

Apple’s mobile operating system has special features built in to store and convey essential health information, quickly contact the emergency services and pinpoint our location if we get injured and stranded in unfamiliar surroundings. Our iPhones can also protect us against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and generally help us to maintain our health and wellbeing. Over the following pages we’ll showcase the various life-saving capabilities of your iPhone and help you set it up to offer maximum protection.

Get set to protect yourself

We’ll move on to the specific ways in which your iPhone can be used to protect you over the page, but for now, here are some quick and easy steps you can take to set your device up to offer the optimum level of protection.

1Set up your Medical ID

Launch the Health app, tap on your profile in the topright corner of the screen and then tap ‘Medical ID’. Tap ‘Edit’ and then enter in as many details as possible.

2Show when locked

Before tapping ‘Done’, make sure the ‘Show When Locked’ option is on to allow other people to access your Medical ID from your Lock Screen.

3Set up Siri

If you need help but can’t reach your iPhone then you can ask Siri to contact the emergency services. Go to Settings>Siri & Search and enable ‘Listen for “Hey Siri”’.

4Enable Location Services

Your iPhone uses GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi hotspots and mobile towers to track your location. Go to Settings>Privacy> Location Services to turn it on.