Survivors of Domestic Abuse: Opt out of Emergency Alerts

The Government have announced their next Emergency Alerts test will take place on Sunday 7th September 2025 at 3 pm.

The first Emergency Alerts test took place in April 2023. At the time Refuge raised concerns relating to survivors of domestic abuse with a hidden phone needing to have the option to ‘opt out’ of receiving the alerts on hidden devices. The messaging remains the same: if survivors have hidden devices we need to ensure they have opted out of the test.

This is the link to the Government website with details on how people can opt out: https://www.gov.uk/alerts

This video shows how to navigate the settings to opt out: Managing Emergency Alerts on your phone to stay safe if you’re experiencing domestic abuse

Over the next few weeks, please let any survivors of domestic abuse you’re working with know.