Google has disabled its Android earthquake detection function in Brazil after many smartphone customers in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro acquired false emergency alerts on Friday morning, Android Police reviews. The alerts of a nonexistent 5.5 magnitude earthquake have been despatched to gadgets round 2AM this morning, and pinpointed earthquakes within the nation’s Ubatuba and Baixada Santista areas.
In response to CNN Brasil, the Civil Protection of São Paulo, which manages an early warning system for catastrophe threat, mentioned it “didn’t challenge any alert and that there isn’t a report of any incidence associated to the attainable earthquake within the state.”
In an e mail to The Verge, Google spokesperson Ed Fernandez writes:
The Android Earthquake Alerts System is a supplemental service that makes use of Android telephones to rapidly estimate earthquake shaking and supply early warnings to customers. It’s not designed to interchange any official or different public warning methods. On February 14th, our system detected alerts from gadgets close to the coast of São Paulo and triggered an earthquake alert to customers within the area. We promptly disabled the alerting system in Brazil and are at the moment investigating what occurred. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and stay dedicated to enhancing our instruments.
