Photo : William Sun

The new Apple Watch can call emergency services if you appear to have fallen and can’t get up. We reported earlier that the feature is on for users age 65 and up, but anyone can enable it. But no matter what age you are, you should be aware of the legal ramifications: Y ou’re allowing police into your home without a warrant, and you may not actually want that.




The fourth amendment allows for a “community caretaking” exception, which means that the police can enter your home if they believe you need emergency assistance. As Ars Technica reports, they can then seize anything that’s in plain view that looks like contraband or evidence of a crime, like cannabis if you’re in a state where that’s not legal.


Most other safety-oriented apps and gadgets handle alerts a little differently: they notify your designated contacts—friends or family—and give them the option of calling 911 for you. (Wearsafe, for example, will connect you with first responders, but a contact has to initiate that call.) Apple does the opposite: it calls emergency services, and then texts your designated contacts.

Perhaps you have nothing to hide, and are sure you never will; in that case, use the feature with caution. (What if you’re at somebody else’s house?) Otherwise, it’s worth thinking about whether the feature is truly one you want to have enabled.