How do I set up Medical ID on an iPhone?

Open the Health app, tap your profile picture, tap Medical ID, then Edit. Add conditions, allergies, medications, blood type and emergency contacts. Turn on 'Show When Locked' so it's visible from the Lock Screen without unlocking the phone, and turn on 'Share During Emergency Call' so it's shared automatically if 112 or a local emergency number is dialled from the phone. Tap Done to save.

How do I set up emergency medical information on Android?

On most Android phones (Pixel and stock Android), open the Safety app or go to Settings → Safety & Emergency → Medical information, add blood type, allergies, medications and conditions, add emergency contacts, then turn on 'Show when locked'. On Samsung Galaxy phones, the path is Settings → Safety and emergency → Medical info (and separately Emergency contacts), with a 'Show on Lock screen' toggle for each. Exact menu names vary by phone brand — search Settings for 'emergency' or 'medical' if these exact names don't appear.

Is it safe to put medical information on a phone's lock screen?

It's a genuine trade-off, not a free upgrade. Anyone who picks up the phone — not just paramedics — can read whatever is shown on the lock screen, without a passcode. The common approach is to include enough for someone to help in a real emergency (blood group, key conditions and medications, allergies, emergency contact numbers) while leaving out anything more sensitive. This is a personal and family decision, not a purely technical one.

Free Interactive Tool

Setting Up Medical ID on Your Parent's Phone

If your parent collapses or has an accident and a stranger or paramedic picks up their phone, this is what lets them see blood group, conditions, medicines and who to call — in seconds, without needing to unlock the phone or find a physical card. Ten minutes, done once. Pick your parent's phone below.

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📖 6 min setup

Worth knowing before you turn this on: anyone who picks up the phone — not just a paramedic — can read whatever's shown on the lock screen, without needing the passcode. Most families include enough to help in a real emergency (blood group, key conditions, medicines, allergies, an emergency contact) and leave out anything more sensitive. Decide what to include together with your parent, not just for them.

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📌 Menu names shift between phone brands and software updates (Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo and others each phrase this slightly differently). If these exact menu names don't appear, search your parent's Settings app for "emergency" or "medical" — nearly every modern Android phone has some version of this feature, even if it's tucked in a different spot.

Worth Knowing

Do this with your parent on a video call, not silently in the background — they should know what's on there and agree with it, and seeing it set up once means they're not confused if it ever gets triggered for real. Then actually test it: lock the phone and try to view it yourselves, the way a stranger would.

Emergency Card

A printable/QR backup — for when the phone itself isn't reachable.

Phone Setup for Safety

SOS, scam protection and the rest of the phone.

Parent Profile

The fuller record this Medical ID is a short summary of.

If this helped — buy the doctor a coffee.

Setting Up Medical ID on Your Parent's Phone

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