The Android alert system uses the accelerometers present in several million smartphones, which record primary waves (P waves), early and less destructive, issued at the start of an earthquake. By detecting these initial waves, smartphones immediately transmit this information to Google servers, allowing the rapid sending of alerts before the arrival of secondary waves, much more dangerous.
Between 2021 and early 2024, the device demonstrated its reliability by identifying more than 18,000 earthquakes in more than 100 countries worldwide. The study particularly highlights the very low number of false alarms, showing the robustness and precision of this technology. The system efficiency has been recognized by a majority of users who have found these alerts particularly useful to quickly take appropriate security measures.
As soon as an earthquake is spotted by the sensors of the smartphone, an alert immediately appears on the screen indicating the good practices to adopt to protect itself, as hiding under a piece of furniture and maintaining your head.
During the recent earthquakes in the Philippines (November 2023, magnitude 6.7), in Nepal (November 2023, magnitude 5.7) and in Turkey (April 2025, magnitude 6.2), Google thus sparked extremely rapid alerts, between 8 and 18.3 seconds after the first tremors, allowing several million people to benefit from a minute to the arrival of waves before more destructive.
