What Facebook is doing with Safety Check data

FACEBOOK’S Safety Check feature allows users to notify their family and friends that they’re okay following natural disasters or attacks that prompt Facebook to deploy the tool. But have you ever wondered what Facebook does with that information?

This week, the social network announced that it will share some of that data with aid organisations – specifically UNICEF, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the World Food Programme - to make it easier for them to locate people who need help. More organizations and governments are now able to apply for access to this data.

The company rolled out Safety Check in 2014, inspired by Facebook users’ behaviour after the 2011 tsunami and earthquake that rocked northern Japan. The data sharing announced Wednesday is only for aid organisations - the average Facebook user isn’t going to see it - and could provide valuable insight into where groups should send supplies or other aid.

“Humanitarian organisations need more of a birds-eye view” of areas affected by natural disasters, said Molly Jackman, a public policy research manager at Facebook. “We thought Facebook could help paint a more complete picture so organisations know where resources are needed the most.” The data could be used to see how populations are moving, where they are checking in safely and how their normal routines have been disrupted.

The Safety Check feature has come under scrutiny in the past, with some questioning how Facebook makes its decisions on when to deploy the tool. Users in Paris saw Safety Check pop up on their feeds after a 2015 shooting, but users in Beirut who were near a suicide bombing that killed 43 people did not have access to Safety Check.— Washington Post