RakshakSafety and how SOS works
Self-reviewed · last updated 2026-10-09. Written by us from what the app actually does; not reviewed by a lawyer.
In an emergency, call 112. SOS in Rakshak alerts the people you chose; it does not replace emergency services. It is free for everyone, always.
How SOS works on Android
- You start it: the SOS button, the Silent SOS button, the quick-settings tile, shaking the phone, or a phrase you choose and say aloud (shake and phrase are off until you turn them on).
- A short countdown lets you cancel a mistake. Stopping SOS from then on needs your screen lock and your SOS PIN, so someone who takes your phone cannot simply cancel it. A separate duress PIN appears to cancel while SOS continues silently.
- Texts go to every SOS contact from your own number, with your location and battery level, on every SIM, retried if sending fails. Each contact's result is shown.
- It keeps going until you are safe: contacts are asked to reply OK; if nobody does, the texts are resent and contacts are called one by one. SOS resumes after a restart and sends a last message when the battery reaches 3 %.
- Contacts who also have the app and paired with you get a full-screen alarm until they tap "I'm on it", and you see who responded.
- Optional photos and sound: one photo from each camera and a 5-second sound clip, sent to your contacts as a picture message (off until you turn it on).
- Discreet modes play a siren, a ringtone, vibration or nothing, and show nothing that says SOS.
What SOS cannot do
| Limit | Why, and what the app does instead |
|---|---|
| It cannot call 112 by itself on Android | Android lets only the system place emergency calls. The app opens the dialer with 112 and shows a large Call 112 button; you tap Call. Android's own Emergency SOS (pressing the power button 5 times on most phones) does call, and the app helps you turn it on |
| It needs mobile signal and the ability to send SMS | Texts and calls go through your mobile network. With no signal, nothing can be sent until signal returns; the app keeps retrying |
| Delivery is not guaranteed | "Delivered" depends on your carrier's delivery reports. Picture messages may not arrive on every network |
| Location can be rough or old | It comes from your phone's location service; indoors or without GPS it can be off by hundreds of metres |
| If the phone is switched off, broken or out of battery, alerts stop | There is no cloud service yet that alerts your contacts when your phone dies; it is planned |
| Phone settings can stop it | Battery savers on some phones close apps in the background. Allow the app to run in the background, as the app's setup asks |
| Shake and voice are not perfect | Short phrases are weak in noise (one short phrase was recognised 98 % of the time in a quiet room and 38 % in a crowd); longer, distinctive phrases do much better. Shake may not work on some phones when they are locked with the screen off. Test both on your phone |
| Contacts' alarms need Android | A contact on an iPhone gets your SOS texts, but iPhones do not let apps read texts, so they cannot get the full-screen alarm |
| Nearby-phone relay (mesh) | Not available yet. When it is, it will reach only phones running the app within Bluetooth or Wi-Fi range, typically tens of metres, so it helps only when such phones are close by |
| Real-phone testing is still going on | SOS has been tested on emulators and is being tested on real phones; test it on your own phone and with your contacts |
On an iPhone
The iPhone version is in development. iPhones let SOS run only while the app is open, cannot send texts without your tap in Messages, cannot listen for a phrase in the background (Siri starts SOS instead) and have no siren. Apple's own Emergency SOS calls emergency services.
Test it
Use Test run in SOS settings: it sends real messages marked TEST to your contacts, never calls 112, and shows what happened for each contact. Tell your contacts what a TEST message looks like before you start. Practice mode sends nothing at all.
Scam Shield
Scam Shield warns about "digital arrest" calls, impersonation and other scam messages, worked out on your phone. It caught about 9 in 10 of the scams we tested it on, and about 1 in 10 of its warnings was about a genuine message. If in doubt, hang up and call the organisation on a number you know. Report cyber fraud by calling 1930 or at cybercrime.gov.in.
Your privacy during SOS
SOS sends your location, battery level and, if you turned them on, photos and sound, only to your SOS contacts, from your own phone. While SOS runs the app checks incoming texts only for a plain reply such as "OK" from an SOS contact. See the privacy policy.