- Let a trusted friend know you’ve arrived safely
- Your iPhone tracks your progress and alerts the friend if you’re delayed
- Location data is automatically shared if you stop responding
Following up on iOS 16’s Safety Check, Apple has a new safety feature in iOS 17 called Check In.
This allows you to link your location data with a trusted friend, automatically letting them know when you reach your destination – or alerting them if you’re delayed or off course. It’s a fantastic peace of mind feature that should help users feel safer when traveling alone.
Requirements
To use Check In, both users – the traveler and the trusted friend – need to be running iOS 17. The person traveling also needs Location Services enabled and an active data plan.
Checking In
To start a session, open a Messages chat with a trusted friend or family member. Tap the + button to open the side menu, and choose Check In from the list. Follow the prompts to set up the session – you can choose to be tracked until you arrive at your chosen destination, or after a predefined timer.
You can choose how much data to share if you’re unexpectedly delated. The Limited data set includes your current location, plus battery life and network signal. Choosing the Full data set includes all of the above, plus extras like the exact route traveled, the last place your iPhone was unlocked, and even whether or not your Apple Watch has been removed.
Once activated, your trusted friend will be notified you’ve started a Check In session, and notified again when you reach your destination.
If you get delayed
Your iPhone will track your progress and send you a Lock Screen notification if you unexpectedly stop. You have 15 minutes to respond to the prompt, confirming that you’re safe – otherwise your trusted friend will automatically be alerted that something might be wrong. They will be sent the data set you chose earlier in the Messages app, which could be essential if they need to search for you.
To keep tabs on someone else, you’ll have to ask them to start a Check In session from their device and choose you as the trusted friend.