Emergency Contacts
Build your personal safety network in minutes
Why Emergency Contacts Matter
Your emergency contacts are the foundation of your safety network. They're the people who will be notified if something goes wrong — the ones who know you, care about you, and can take action fast.
Elta makes sure they have everything they need to help, exactly when they need it.
Adding Your First Emergency Contact
Step 1: Go to Your Profile
Open Elta and navigate to your profile settings. Tap Emergency Contacts.
Step 2: Add a Contact
Tap Add Contact and enter their details:
- Name — How you know them
- Phone number — Their primary mobile number
- Email — For backup notifications
- Relationship — Partner, parent, friend, colleague, etc.
Step 3: Send Verification
Elta sends your contact a verification message so they know to expect alerts from the app. This ensures:
- They recognize Elta notifications as legitimate
- Their contact details are correct
- They understand their role in your safety network
Step 4: Set Permissions
Choose what information this contact receives during an emergency:
- Your live GPS location
- Your medical profile
- Trip details and notes
- Custom emergency instructions
Different contacts can have different permissions. Share medical details with family but only location with colleagues.
How Many Contacts Should You Have?
We recommend 2-4 emergency contacts with different relationships:
| Contact Type | Why They Matter |
|---|---|
| Close family/partner | Most likely to act immediately, knows your routines |
| Local friend | Can physically reach you fastest if nearby |
| Out-of-area contact | Available even if a local disaster affects others |
| Activity-specific contact | Hiking buddy who understands the terrain, colleague who knows your work schedule |
Assigning Contacts to Trips
Not every contact needs to be alerted for every activity. When creating a trip, you can:
- Select specific contacts for that trip only
- Choose different contacts for different types of activities
- Set a primary contact who gets notified first
Example:
- Weekend camping trip → Your partner + outdoor-savvy friend
- Business travel → Your partner + office manager
- Daily commute → Your partner only
What Your Contacts Experience
When you add someone as an emergency contact, they receive:
- Verification request — Confirms they accept the role
- Brief explanation — What Elta is and what to expect
- Test option — They can see what an alert looks like
During an actual emergency, they receive:
- Push notification and/or SMS
- Your location on a map
- Your trip details and notes
- Your medical information (if shared)
- Clear instructions on what to do
Keeping Contacts Updated
Life changes. So should your emergency contacts.
- Review quarterly — Are these still the right people?
- Update after life events — New partner, moved cities, changed jobs
- Verify contact details — Phone numbers and emails change
- Remove inactive contacts — Don't clutter your network with outdated entries
Tips for Choosing the Right Contacts
Choose people who will act Pick contacts who will take an alert seriously and follow through — not someone who might ignore a notification.
Consider time zones If you travel internationally, have at least one contact in a timezone where they'll be awake.
Brief them in person Tell your contacts you've added them. Explain what Elta does and what you'd want them to do in an emergency.
Mix relationships Don't rely only on family or only on friends. A diverse network means someone is always available.
Privacy & Your Contacts
Your emergency contacts only receive information when:
- An emergency trigger activates (missed check-out, expired timer, manual SOS)
- You explicitly share your location with them during a trip
They cannot:
- Track your location without an active emergency
- See your trips unless you choose to share
- Access your profile without your permission
You're always in control.
Your safety network starts with the people you trust. Set them up today.
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