Google Launches Emergency Live Video on Android to Let Users Stream Real-Time Video to Dispatchers

Google on Wednesday began rolling out Emergency Live Video, a new Android feature that allows emergency dispatchers to request a live camera feed from a caller’s phone, giving first responders real-time visibility into crashes, medical emergencies, fires and other high-risk situations.

The company said the tool is designed as a consent-driven, one-tap experience that builds on Android’s existing safety suite.

When a user places an emergency call or sends an emergency text, dispatchers can issue a secure request to the device asking the caller to initiate video sharing. A prompt then appears on the phone, and the user can start streaming with a single tap, or decline. The stream can be stopped at any time, and Google says all video is encrypted and requires no prior configuration on the device.

Android’s Emergency Stack

Emergency Live Video is tightly integrated with Android’s Emergency Location Service (ELS) and the Fused Location Provider (FLP), which combine GPS, cellular, Wi-Fi and sensor signals to deliver faster and more precise location information during emergencies.

Google frames the new capability as a natural extension of ELS, one that gives dispatchers not just accurate coordinates but also real-time visual context from the scene.

The feature is supported on Android devices running Android 8 (Oreo) or later with Google Play services. Google said the rollout has begun in the United States and in select regions of Germany and Mexico, with broader access expected as public-safety partners such as RapidSOS and Motorola Solutions integrate the service. Actual availability will hinge on adoption by individual 911 and 112 call centres.

Privacy, Security & Consent

Google emphasises that Emergency Live Video is user-initiated and opt-in: dispatchers send a request, and only after a user taps the prompt does streaming begin.

The company also says streams are encrypted and that users retain control, they can stop the stream at any time and can export or delete their data later per Google’s policies. Still, privacy advocates and public-safety officials will likely scrutinise how access controls, retention policies and local legal rules are implemented as adoption spreads.

Partners & Ecosystem Adoption

Google is working with emergency-response platforms and vendors to connect dispatch centres. RapidSOS, which already integrates device data with many US 911 centres, announced support for the feature, and Motorola Solutions and other public-safety vendors have also signalled integrations that let telecommunicators request and receive streams inside existing workflows.

That partnership layer will determine how quickly individual emergency centres can use the capability.

Live video can materially improve responders’ ability to triage, advise and dispatch the right resources, especially when callers are injured, panicked or unable to describe their surroundings. But the model raises operational and policy questions: which dispatch centres will accept streams, how bandwidth and reliability will be handled in weak-signal areas, how long streams are retained, and how authorities will verify that streamed footage is not misused. Those are the issues agencies and privacy regulators typically test during pilots.