How to Mark Yourself Safe on Facebook

Whenever you're in the vicinity of a natural disaster or a similar public crisis, you can let your family and friends know that you're OK if you know how to mark yourself safe on Facebook. You should also know how to check if others are marked safe on Facebook.

Information in this article applies to Facebook's website and the Facebook mobile app for iOS and Android.

How to Mark Yourself as Safe on Facebook in a Browser

If a public crisis has been reported in your area, Facebook might send you a prompt to mark yourself safe. However, it's also possible to manually mark yourself as safe on Facebook:

Go to your Facebook feed and select See More under Explore on the left side of the page.
Select Crisis Response.

You can also navigate directly to the Facebook Crisis Response page.
Select the event that is affecting your area. If you don't see it on the first page, select the Most Active or United States tab.
Select Yes next to Are you in the affected area? at the top of the page.
Select I'm Safe.

If you have any friends in the affected area, they will appear in the upper-right corner of the page.

How to Mark Yourself as Safe on the Facebook App

The process of marking yourself safe with the Facebook mobile app is very similar:

Launch the Facebook app and tap the hamburger menu in the top-right corner of your news feed.
Scroll down and tap See More.
Tap Crisis Response.
Scroll down and tap the event affecting your area.

Tap Friends' Activity to see if any of your friends have recently used the safety check feature.
Tap I'm Safe.

How to Ask If Someone Is Safe on Facebook

If you're worried about a friend or family member who might be affected by a disaster, you can check to see if they are safe on Facebook. Just go to the Crisis Response page and select an event. If you have friends in the affected area, they will appear in the top-right corner of the page.

Select Ask If Safe to send them a notification letting your friend know that you want them to check-in. If you're worried about someone and you don't see them listed, select Search for a friend.

You cannot check on users who are not your friend on Facebook.

Facebook Crisis Response Resources

Safety Check is one of Facebook's Crisis Response resources meant to help users during public emergencies. In addition to letting your friends know that you're safe, you can find breaking news updates and information about relief efforts. The Crisis Response page is a great place to look if you're in need of help, or if you want to know how you can help others.

When to Mark Yourself Safe on Facebook

If you don't get a notification from Facebook about an event, that doesn't mean you shouldn't reassure your friends and family that you're OK. However, if the crisis isn't in your immediate area, then it might not be necessary.

Before you travel or move to a new place, it's a good idea to discuss this feature with your friends and family so that you know how to check on each other in the event of an emergency. If government officials and local news outlets announce a state of emergency in your area, it's a good idea to check the Facebook Crisis Response page. If you don't see the event listed, you can post a status update to let everyone know that you're safe.