Do an Emergency Call or Access Your Medical ID
Your iPhone has the ability to make emergency calls almost instantly, which is a great feature for when you’re in a pickle.
Moreover, you can also store your Medical ID on your iPhone, which can contain important information like your name, blood type, and emergency contacts.
You can access both the Emergency SOS and Medical ID features by long pressing your side button and one of the volume buttons — just like you turn off your iPhone. Two sliders will appear, one for viewing your Medical ID and another for placing an Emergency SOS call to 911.
However, if you’re in a real emergency, you can place an emergency call right away by continuing to hold the side button and volume button An eight-second countdown will begin, after which your iPhone will automatically call 911 (or whatever emergency number is appropriate in your country) unless you cancel it. You can also do this even more quickly by pressing your side button five times. Both of these button sequences can be enabled or disabled in Settings > Emergency SOS.
As an added bonus, bringing up the Emergency SOS screen will also “hard lock” your iPhone so that it can’t be unlocked with Face ID or Touch ID — you’ll need to enter your passcode or password to get back in. This can be useful if you find yourself in a situation where you’re concerned you might be forced to unlock your iPhone.