Amber alerts, also known as AMBER alerts, allow authorities to notify the public about abducted children who are believed to be in danger. While these alerts serve an important purpose, some iPhone users may wish to turn them off at certain times to avoid disturbances.
Fortunately, it is possible to disable amber alerts on an iPhone while keeping other types of emergency notifications enabled. Here is a step-by-step guide:
What are Amber Alerts?
AMBER alerts stand for “America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response”. They are emergency messages issued by authorities when a child has been abducted and is thought to be in imminent danger.
The alerts provide details about the missing child and suspected abductor, such as:
- Name and description of the abducted child
- Description of suspected abductor
- Details about the vehicle involved
- Location where the child was last seen
The goal is for the public to be on the lookout for the child and to contact authorities right away with any relevant information. Timely tips from the community can help recover abducted children quickly.
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How to Disable Amber Alerts on iPhone
The process to turn off amber alerts is quick and straightforward. Just follow these steps:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone
- Scroll down and tap Notifications
- Scroll to the very bottom and locate the Government Alerts section
- Tap the toggle switch next to AMBER Alerts to turn it off (gray)
With a few simple taps, you have now disabled amber alerts on your iPhone.
Do note that presidential alerts and some local safety alerts cannot be disabled. But you should no longer receive notifications about missing children.
To turn amber alerts back on in the future, simply repeat the steps above and toggle AMBER Alerts back on (green).
Why Disable Amber Alerts on iPhone?
There are a few reasons why iPhone users may wish to turn off amber alerts:
- Disturbance of sleep or concentration: The alerts make a loud, jarring sound even when your phone is muted or set to Do Not Disturb. This can disrupt sleep or concentration during work/study.
- Alert fatigue: If you receive multiple irrelevant alerts, you may start ignoring them altogether. This reduces their effectiveness in case a local child is actually abducted.
- Privacy concerns: Some people prefer limiting the types of location-based alerts their device receives.
Of course, there are also good reasons to keep amber alerts enabled, like wanting to stay informed about missing children in your area. It’s a personal decision based on your priorities and level of comfort.
You Can Customize Notification Settings
Beyond amber alerts, you can customize other notification settings to prevent unnecessary disruptions:
- Silence unknown callers: Go to Settings => Phone and enable Silence Unknown Callers to filter out calls from numbers not in your contacts.
- Set notification preferences: For each app, go to Settings => Notifications => [app name] to pick and choose which types of alerts you want to receive.
- Use Do Not Disturb: Enable Do Not Disturb when you don’t want to be interrupted by calls or alerts outside of your allowed contacts and apps.
Location Precautions
It’s also worth reviewing your location settings to maximize both privacy and safety:
- Carefully examine which apps have access to your location data under Settings => Privacy & Security => Location Services. Only leave location enabled for apps you fully trust.
- For added precaution against stalkers/abusers, you can turn off location sharing under Settings => [your name] => Find My => Find My iPhone. But keep in mind this will disable tracking capabilities if your device is lost or stolen.
Conclusion
Being able to opt out of amber alerts gives iPhone users more control over the notifications they receive. If you find certain alerts annoying or irrelevant, disabling them can help avoid frustration while keeping truly important emergency notifications enabled.
Just remember that amber alerts serve a valuable purpose in helping recover abducted children. While disabling them is a personal decision, consider leaving them on when occasional disturbances are tolerable to you. After all, you never know when a timely tip from you could one day save a child’s life.
