Did you receive a confusing Public Safety Alert iPhone notification? Here's what it means
More info needed.
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If you received a bizarre "Public Safety Alert" in the state of Tennessee in the last 24 hours, you may be wondering what it means.
Users on Reddit reported an iPhone message saying "Public Safety Alert", but it was attached to what looked to be a potential spam link that wouldn't go anywhere.
The notification led to some concern that users had received some sort of malware, but it appears it was actually linked to a Blue Alert from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Does anybody know what this means (public safety alert)? from r/iphone
Mystery iPhone notification caused by Blue Alert
As reported by Action News 5, the presence of an active shooter led to the notification being sent following the shooting of a State Trooper. The Trooper is in a stable condition.
Still, it appears not enough information was given which led to a questionable link being sent to phones in the Tennessee area.
Users on Reddit said the notification was sent to a wide enough range to reach phones two hours away, but with little to no information given, users were forced to look up what it meant anyway.
Some posited it could be a weather warning since it uses a similar format, but if you received the notification, now you know.
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Lloyd Coombes is a freelance writer with a specialism in Apple tech. From his first, hand-me-down iMac, he’s been working with Apple products for over a decade, and while he loves his iPhone and Mac, the iPad will always have his heart for reasons he still can’t quite fathom. Since moving from blogging to writing professionally, Lloyd’s work can be found at TechRadar, Macworld, TechAdvisor and plenty more. He’s also the Editor in Chief at GGRecon.com, and on the rare occasion he’s not writing you’ll find him spending time with his son, or working hard at the gym (while wearing an Apple Watch, naturally). You can find him on Twitter @lloydcoombes.
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EdwinG I have never seen an alert like that.Reply
The mandatory Alert Ready alerts have a completely different look. -
Mars20
Could it be some kind of spam initiated by hackers in the wake of the massive IT outage yesterday?iMore.com said:An Emergency message left some iPhone users confused on Friday.
Did you receive a confusing Public Safety Alert iPhone notification? Here's what it means : Read more -
Ledsteplin Mars20 said:Could it be some kind of spam initiated by hackers in the wake of the massive IT outage yesterday?
Read the article! -
Mars20
There’s no need to be rude! You don’t know the origin of this.Ledsteplin said:Read the article!