Skype Users in the US Can Now Dial 911 and Share Location

After so many years, Skype has finally made a substantial upgrade dedicated to its users in the US. Skype just announced that it now allows US users to make 911 calls, joining those in Australia, Denmark, Finland, and the UK. Additionally, users may activate location sharing while calling 911. It will let Skype automatically acquire and relay their emergency locations to the operators.

More about emergency calls on Skype for the US

The Skype support page states that users’ locations will only be shared when they phone 911 in order to route their calls and provide their whereabouts to emergency operators. Users must have a device that enables location sharing to accomplish this, or they will need to allow location-sharing on their device settings, and it will only function if they are in an area where sharing is permitted.

However, location-sharing is disabled by default, and users must first opt in. To activate it, they will need to take the following steps:

• Click on their Skype profile pictures.
• Pick Settings and then select Privacy.
• Turn on location sharing for emergency 911. (Users can turn it back off at any time.)

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Despite its emergency call capability, which is accessible on both PC and phones, users should also be aware of Skype’s Notices and Disclosures, as well as the Special 911 Warning of Limitations and Unavailability. Before switching on its location sharing, Skype will remind users that the service does not work the same way as a regular phone call, which apparently shows the limitations of Skype emergency calls.

Emergency calls may be disconnected due to an internet outage, a Skype service breakdown, or a blackout; in such cases, regular phone calls are unaffected. Users are also advised not to make emergency calls over Skype outside of their regions due to the possibility of calls being redirected to other locations.

According to Microsoft Release Notes, the emergency calling feature is available on Skype for Windows, Mac, Linux, Web, Android, iPhone, and iPad, adding to other new features of Skype 8.80, such as custom reactions, a 5-minute voice message, share screen zooming in, and the light or dark theme mode.