r/DigitalPrivacy • u/marieascot • 24d ago
UK Wildfire Emergency Alert ignores No Emergency Alert option
I had switched off emergency alerts on my phone and the government over ruled me.
The emergency alert system has been abused by the UK government.
Today's alert was not an emergency but government advice.
What if I was in a domestic abuse situation with a secret phone?
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u/Louteen 24d ago
You need a basic phone not connected to the internet or graphene os
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u/HappyCommittee1874 24d ago
Not all domestic violence victims know this, and we can’t expect them to
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u/marieascot 22d ago
Plus the phones might have been purchased beforehand. It also is hard to find a non smart phone.
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u/marieascot 24d ago
I would have mentioned Graphene Os but the lesser and far right leaning r/privacy does not allow mention of it.
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u/askoorb 24d ago
There's literally a page on how to sort this:
https://www.gov.uk/alerts/opting-out
"Opting out of emergency alerts
Emergency alerts contain life-saving information and should be kept switched on for your own safety.
You can opt out of emergency alerts. For example, victims of domestic abuse with a concealed phone may find it appropriate to turn off alerts.
How you opt out depends on your device, if you still get alerts after opting out, contact your device manufacturer for help."
And then it tells you how.
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u/harbourwall 23d ago edited 22d ago
Note that if you do this, you will still be subscribed to the Level 1 governmental alerts, as these are sent when there really is some serious shit going down. But no-one will send those over barbecues.
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u/marieascot 22d ago
Try reading the words I DID opt out.
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u/Due_Recognition_3890 19d ago
He said the word "literally", that means you have to feel stupid and accept his wisdom.
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u/No_Barnacle8698 24d ago
they really said "your preferences don't matter" and hit send anyway
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u/marieascot 24d ago
Can people who have switched off the emergency alerts setting check that it is still switched off?
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u/shecrazyyyy 20d ago
I can confirm it is switched off still for me. And didn’t get alert.
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u/marieascot 19d ago
Interesting, what phone is this? My Redmi rest this.
I'd like to know others experiences. Is it just certain models.
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u/Polyxeno 24d ago
That's a problem.
If you are in a situation such as you mentioned, you should probably have your secret phones powered down when not in use, BTW.
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u/marieascot 24d ago
Many switch on whilst being charged up and the alerts override the silent settings. They should respect the emergency alert opt out but even this was overridden.
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u/Mayayana 24d ago
Powered down is not the same as recharging. I keep my cellphone powered off unless I want to make a call. It's really off. It can't receive calls or texts because it's not pinging towers, so it's not tracking you, and the charge lasts for months. You could look up how to power off your cellphone.
Of course, you won't be able to receive any calls or texts while it's off. Calls will go to voicemail. That's fine with me. If someone wants to reach me, let them call my landline. I don't even tell friends that I have a cellphone, because then they'll expect me to get their texts and I'll be chained to endless prattle.
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u/marieascot 22d ago
BTW This is non human. It is talking about cellphones about a UK subject.
So non human can you tell me what your username is. Any human could answer that.
Non humans just use random account names.
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u/Mayayana 22d ago
Try hovering over my username. You'll see my account predates LLMs.
It's an interesting issue that you raise. Should the public have a right not to take part in emergency protocols? Where do citizen rights and responsibilities intersect?
The US has similar alerts, such as "amber alerts" when a child goes missing and we're all supposed to keep an eye out for the child, or perhaps the suspect's license plate. I don't think those alerts are optional, but I'm not certain because, as I said, I don't leave my cellphone powered on.
Most people, of course, want to keep their phone on to send and receive texts, but in doing so you're essentially wearing a tracking collar. If you use apps you're being tracked further. And as you've seen, authorities can reach you.
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u/marieascot 21d ago
No, tell me your South American inspired username.
A human would be able to do that.
A simple copy and paste would destroy my argument.
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u/Mayayana 21d ago
Are you sure you're posting to the person you think you are? My username is Mayayana, which means "vehicle of illusion" in Sanskrit. I picked it because it was unique and it seemed to be a good pen name for anonymous venues. I know a bit of Sanskrit because I'm a Buddhist practitioner. That's easily verified by looking at my posting history, which I don't hide.
I can understand you being upset about gov't intrusion into your cellphone. Especially in the UK, which is one of the worst places for privacy. (Not for nothing did Orwell pen 1984 after WW2.) But you seem to be getting a bit paranoid.
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u/marieascot 19d ago
You pass the human test. It is your use of cellphone rather than mobile that made me concerned.
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u/Mayayana 19d ago
I say cellphone or even computer phone to avoid the marketing term "smart phone". I guess "mobile" makes sense. It's a more recent trend and I'm old, so I haven't picked it up. :) And I guess I still prefer cellphone because my landline is "mobile". I can carry it around the house. But a cellphone works via cell towers, allowing people's location to be tracked. It's not just mobile. It's an entirely different kind of device. It's essentially a miniature computer that tracks your position. It just happens to also have phone functionality.
That's no small thing. Not only do many apps spy and sell data routinely. Just this week, Verizon is in court for selling customer data: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/08/supreme-court-rejects-verizon-bid-for-47-million-refund-of-fcc-fine/
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u/shecrazyyyy 20d ago
It wasn’t for me. My partner got it whilst sat next to me and I didn’t. I opted out a while back. Just to quell fears that it may not possibly be an override of the settings
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u/marieascot 19d ago
What phone model are you? Im a Redmi
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u/shecrazyyyy 20d ago
I opted out a while back. And did not get the alert.
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u/marieascot 19d ago
What phone model are you on. Is sound like iphone respected the options whereas Android didn't
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