Google has disabled its Android earthquake detection function in Brazil after many smartphone customers in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro obtained false emergency alerts on Friday morning, Android Police reviews. The alerts of a nonexistent 5.5 magnitude earthquake have been despatched to units round 2AM this morning, and pinpointed earthquakes within the nation’s Ubatuba and Baixada Santista areas.
According to CNN Brasil, the Civil Defense of São Paulo, which manages an early warning system for catastrophe threat, stated it “didn’t situation any alert and that there is no such thing as a document of any incidence associated to the potential earthquake within the state.”
In an electronic 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 exchange any official or different public warning programs. On February 14th, our system detected alerts from units 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 presently investigating what occurred. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and stay dedicated to bettering our instruments.
