The government's new emergency alert system will be trialled this weekend, with messages sent to thousands of phones in the UK. The alerts will be sent out at 3pm on Sunday (April 23) as the new system to give people warning of "life-threatening situations" is trialled on a large scale for the first time.
The alerts work on all 4G and 5G phones and will be provided to all phones in the country free of charge, so you do not need to sign up or pay. The government has also said you will get alerts based on your current location – not where you live or work, and you do not need to turn on location services to receive alerts.
There are systems like this one already in place in multiple other countries, including the US and Japan, and ministers are claiming the new system could "save your life" if disaster strikes.
