Smart 911

Smart911 is a free, third party (non government) supplemental data service that allows you to create a safety profile that can be seen by emergency responders when you call 9-1-1. The company that owns / runs Smart911 is Rave Mobile Safety.

After you sign up with Smart911; when you call 9-1-1  from a registered phone number, your profile will be displayed at the 9-1-1 center. You can include as little or as much information in your profile as you like. Information may include address, medical and security information. This service is voluntary, so you decide what information you want emergency responders to know about you when you call 9-1-1. 

Part of the intent of Smart911 is to compensate for cell-phones and VOIP phones, which have replaced landline phones by as much 70 percent in some areas.  Cell-phones only transmit a general location data.  With Smart911, emergency crews can be provided with the caller’s exact address, which is especially helpful in finding apartment renters, and hard to find homes in rural areas.

Smart911 prompts registered users to verify their information every six months. However, you should update your profile anytime there is any change to your information.

Privacy Concerns

In 2012, when Smart911 became available in King County, WA, KIRO 7 News published a report "Smart' 911 registry prompts privacy questions".  KHON 2 News (Honolulu) expressed similar concerns in 2015, asking "How much information is too much information for HPD's new Smart911 system?"

Although Smart911 claims that your data profile is only available to dispatchers after you call 9-1-1 from a registered number; a 2013 article in The Missoulian (Missoula, MT) pointed out that information the Smart911 system can be searched even if you don't call 9-1-1. The article stated in part: "The biggest change is that the new system will let emergency officials look up information based on possible needs, rather than waiting until someone calls. "So if there was a severe power outage, we could look up which people in the county need electricity to power medical equipment and act on that information..."  (There is an option to opt-out of pre-screening of your profile, before you call 9-1-1.)

As with any database containing extensive personal information there are concerns of data breaches, hacking, and misuse of the data.

Even the Smart911 (Rave Mobile Safety) privacy policy states: "Rave cannot guarantee the security of user account or other personal information. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors, may compromise the security of user information at any time."

So, should you participate in the Smart911 program? While there are privacy concerns with this service; only you can decide what information you are willing to share with the Rave Mobile Safety company, and with first responders and emergency managers in your area.

You may want to associate your cell-phone or VOIP phone with your address to aid responders in finding you during an emergency.

If you have specific health conditions that may require special treatment or that might prevent you from communicating easily with the 9-1-1 call center during an emergency call, you may want to include this information in your profile.

Because Smart911 lets you control what information you include in your profile, and the profile questions seem to be specifically related to information that would be needed by first responders... Smart911 is probably a good tool to consider as part of your personal security plan.