What is Breathing Emergency Detection on my Google Pixel Watch?

Breathing Emergency Detection is a feature on Google Pixel Watch that can detect persistent drop in oxygen saturation to dangerously low levels and prompt a call to emergency services when the user is unresponsive

What is Breathing Emergency Detection?

A breathing emergency is a state of persistent low oxygen in your blood that usually results in loss of consciousness and may require urgent emergency intervention.

Low oxygen can occur from a variety of causes including, but not limited to, drug toxicity accidents, alcohol toxicity accidents, respiratory or circulatory failure, or poisoning.

How does Breathing Emergency Detection detect a lowered oxygen state?

When you take a breath, oxygen is brought into your lungs and then transferred into your blood. While you are wearing your watch, Breathing Emergency Detection uses the heart rate sensor on the back of your watch to measure the amount of oxygen in your blood.

How does Breathing Emergency Detection work?

If your Pixel Watch detects that the amount of oxygen in your blood is suddenly and persistently low to dangerous levels, then your watch will vibrate and check in to see if you need help. If you acknowledge the notification to indicate that you do not need help, the check-in is dismissed.

After 30 seconds, your watch will also sound an alert and start a countdown. If you don’t need help, you can tap X to dismiss the countdown.

If you don’t respond during the countdown which lasts for 30 seconds, your watch will prompt a call to emergency services.² If the call connects, your watch will play an automated message that shares your location and states that your oxygen saturation has reached dangerously low level without a response. Your emergency contacts will be notified optionally.

You are being contacted by an automated emergency voice service on behalf of a caller.

The caller's watch detected an oxygen emergency, and the caller is not responding. Please send help.

<Their location is near Lincoln Hwy, Pollock Pines, CA 95726.

The Plus code for their location is QGFM+WC.>

This message will repeat.

If you or a bystander are able to speak to emergency services, you can tap the button at the bottom to stop the automated message.

Disclaimers:

• This feature can’t detect a breathing emergency in all situations and is not intended for users with preexisting respiratory conditions or chronically low oxygen saturation levels.
• It is not intended to replace any real-time oxygen monitoring devices prescribed by healthcare professionals.
• You may receive a check-in when there is a poor sensor reading, which can happen as a result of normal day-to-day activities.
• It will not detect emergencies after you’ve been asleep for 30 minutes.
• Feature performance may vary based on individual factors, such as BMI, blood flow to the skin, and pigmentation such as wrist tattoos.
• If you receive notifications during non-emergencies multiple times, this feature will be turned off and we’ll let you know.
• In some cases, your Pixel Watch might not be able to call emergency services. For example, your phone might be connected to a weak mobile network or in an ongoing call.³
  • Google Pixel Watch Wi-Fi needs to be in range of your phone and connected with Bluetooth for your phone to call emergency services. You will not be able to talk to emergency services from your watch if your watch is not connected to a phone through Bluetooth.
  • Google Pixel Watch LTE needs an active LTE connection on your watch to call emergency services.
  • Certain regions require an active LTE carrier or Safety Signal to support emergency calls placed from a Pixel Watch.
  • Not available in all countries or regions.

Who can use Breathing Emergency Detection?

Breathing Emergency Detection:

• Not intended for individuals under 18 years of age.
• Not intended for individuals who are pregnant.
• Not intended for individuals with chronically low oxygen saturation levels below 93% SpO₂.
• Not intended for individuals with sickle cell disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure.
• Not intended for individuals with decreased blood flow to the wrist.
• Not intended for individuals with a tattoo on the dorsal aspect of the wrist that interferes with watch functionality.
• Not a replacement for medical supervision or monitoring.
• Not intended to detect all impaired oxygenation events.
• Not intended to detect impaired oxygenation events during sleep sessions longer than 30 minutes.
• Not intended to detect impaired oxygenation events at elevations of approximately 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) or higher.
• Not intended to detect impaired oxygenation due to carbon monoxide.
• Not for self-diagnosis nor treatment.
• Not intended for use in hospital or ambulance environments.
• Not designed to detect apnea. Do not use the Breathing Emergency Detection as an apnea monitor.
• Alerts may be less specific when other medical conditions are present (e.g., severe sleep apnea, obesity).

This feature is not intended to replace any real-time oxygen monitoring devices prescribed by healthcare professionals

How to manage accidental emergency calls

If a call to emergency services is placed by mistake, do not hang up. Tell the emergency operator that the call was accidental and that you do not need assistance.

How do I turn on Breathing Emergency Detection?

To set up Breathing Emergency Detection:

1. On your phone, open the Google Pixel Watch app.
2. Tap Safety & emergency Breathing Emergency Detection.
   Note: If you’re located in a region where Breathing Emergency Detection is available, but don’t see the feature listed in the Safety & emergency section, update the Personal Safety app on your watch and the Pixel Watch app on your phone.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to turn on the feature. After you turn on Breathing Emergency Detection, it checks your heart rate signal to detect a potential breathing emergency whenever you’re wearing your watch.

You must be signed in to Personal Safety with your Google Account on the Pixel Watch to turn on Breathing Emergency Detection. If you have not signed in to the Personal Safety, you’ll be prompted to do so during the setup flow.

Breathing Emergency Detection is only available in select regions. If you travel to a region where Breathing Emergency Detection is not supported, the feature will be temporarily suspended. While temporarily suspended, the feature will not detect breathing emergencies and can’t place a call to emergency services. If you return to a supported region, the feature will automatically resume.

What happens when a breathing emergency is detected?

Check-in notification

If signs of low oxygen are detected, your Pixel Watch vibrates and displays a full screen check-in. Tap Show details to dismiss the notification. If your watch detects movement, it will automatically dismiss the check-in and emergency services won’t be called. This notification remains for ~30 seconds before progressing to a ~30 second emergency countdown.

Emergency countdown

During the countdown, your watch continues to vibrate and will begin to sound a loud, audible alert. Tap the X button to dismiss the countdown. Moving your wrist will not cancel the emergency countdown. If the emergency countdown is dismissed, Breathing Emergency Detection will not place a call to emergency services.

Calling emergency services

If a call is placed and connected to emergency services, your watch will play an automated message that tells responders that your watch detected a breathing emergency and that you did not respond to a check-in. It also shares your location. This message will not be audible to you or any bystanders. To speak to emergency services, tap the button at the bottom of the screen. Aside from the automated message, the call placed is a standard phone call, so the microphone can be used.

Open call with emergency services (optional)

If you tap the button to stop the automated message, you can speak with emergency services through your watch’s microphone and hear them respond through the watch’s speaker. The call remains open until you or the emergency operator ends the call.

Contacting Emergency Contacts

If you have set up emergency contacts, breathing emergency detection will also send them a notification to the provided phone number with the message and your location.

How to manage accidental emergency calls

If call to emergency services is placed by mistake, do not hang up. Tell the emergency operator that the call was accidental and that you do not need assistance.

In addition, if you have either 2 false emergency calls or 3 days with false haptics notifications in a rolling 30-day window, this feature will be turned off to not overburden you and the emergency medical services and we’ll let you know.

Whenever you have either 2 false emergency calls or 3 days with false haptics notifications in a rolling thirty-day window, the feature will turn off automatically and ask you if you need help. If you tap on “I needed help”, then we turn it back on automatically for you and no action is needed from your side.

If you say No, I didn’t need help, then you will be notified that it has been permanently turned off to not overburden you or emergency services and you will be notified if the feature is auto turned off. You still have an option to turn it back ON understanding that it could be turned OFF if you continue to receive non-emergency notifications.

How should I wear my watch for best results?

Follow the tips in How to wear Pixel Watch and adjust band size for optimal tracking.

How is my data handled?

When you use Breathing Emergency Detection, data is collected and stored on Google servers to ensure safe and effective use. This data includes:

• Data about how you use this feature
• Sensor data that helps detect oxygen levels (heart rate sensor) and movement (accelerometer) and altitude (barometer) if a breathing emergency is detected

• Location and emergency contact information if a 911 call is placed

Your data collected for Breathing Emergency Detection will not be sold or used for ads.

You can request to see your data that was collected for Breathing Emergency Detection by reaching out to Customer Support.

You can turn this feature off in the Google Pixel Watch app. This won’t automatically delete your data. You can delete your data by deleting your Google Account.

Things to remember about Breathing Emergency Detection

• This feature can’t detect a breathing emergency in all situations. It can’t predict or determine a cause for breathing emergency or provide any treatment.

• Many causes of breathing emergency are treatable with the appropriate medical attention.

• When you have a breathing emergency, you may sometimes still feel normal for a brief period of time. However, some causes of breathing emergency, such as overdose [Ref] or poisoning [Ref], may cause your oxygen levels to continue dropping.

  • If your oxygen levels continue to fall, you may lose consciousness and will be unable to seek help. This can be life-threatening.
• If you notice that you have a headache, difficulty breathing, a fast heart rate, or bluish skin, this may be a sign of a dangerous low oxygen state that requires immediate medical attention. [Ref]
• Contact with emergency services isn’t guaranteed. Emergency calls require a mobile network connection and do not guarantee that emergency services will respond. Not all calls may connect.
• This feature uses your watch’s heart rate and motion sensors to detect breathing emergency, even when the app is not in use. You may receive a check-in when there is a poor pulse sensor reading, which can happen as a result of normal day-to-day activities.
  • There are other factors that can impact the quality of the oxygen signal from your heart rate sensor and result in a check-in when you don't need help; these include but are not limited to individual variability, motion artifacts, ambient light, and applied pressure to the skin.
• Always talk to a healthcare provider about your health concerns. A check-in from this feature does not serve as a diagnosis, indicate the presence or lack of an underlying health issue, or suggest the need for medical care. Make sure to speak with your doctor before changing your medication or care plans.

How do I provide feedback on an alert?

If you cancel an alert and do not need help (or if your watch automatically cancels an alert because it detects movement or a pulse), you’re invited to provide more information so that we can improve the feature.

In addition, if you receive 3 haptics notifications or 2 non-emergency calls in a thirty-day rolling window, there will be a check in to learn about what happened. You're invited to provide feedback on if you needed help or not.

How do I turn off Breathing Emergency Detection?

To turn off Breathing Emergency Detection:

1. On your phone, open the Google Pixel Watch app.
2. Tap Safety & emergency Breathing Emergency Detection.
3. Tap the slider next to Use Breathing Emergency Detection.

What is the difference between SpO2, Sleep Apnea and Breathing Emergency Detection

While all three features use your watch's sensors to look at your blood oxygen, the biggest difference is in how each feature responds to what it finds.

Here is how they compare:

SpO2 Tracking gives you a number. Your watch periodically checks your blood oxygen levels in the background when you sleep. If your oxygen drops to a low level, SpO2 Tracking will simply record that number (for example 88%) so you can review your daily trends in the app. It will never intervene or alert you. It is a general wellness feature designed for you to track your own data over time.

Breathing Emergency Detection is a personal safety feature. It doesn't just record a number—it looks for specific events: a sudden, persistent severe drop in your oxygen saturation combined with low motion. If it detects this specific emergency pattern, it will intervene immediately. It will vibrate to check on you, and if you don't respond, it can automatically call emergency services for help.

Where can I find additional regulatory information?

For more information, refer to the Instructions for use.

_{¹ This product has not been cleared or evaluated by the US FDA.} 

_{² Emergency calling is dependent on call functionality such as your phone or watch being charged and having adequate cellular connectivity.}

_{³ Emergency calling is dependent on call functionality such as your phone or watch being charged and having adequate cellular connectivity.}