AT&T Wireless has begun rolling out new Wireless Emergency Alerts for iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 users. The new alerts include the ability to turn AMBER alerts on and off. One type of message users will not be able to turn off are messages delivered by way of Presidential alerts.
The update arrives when users add iOS 6.1 or higher to their devices. AMBER alerts and Emergency alerts can be helpful for AT&T users and anyone wanting to help find missing children. However, those options are optional and therefore are opt-out ready.
If you don’t want to receive AMBER alerts and Emergency alerts on your iPhone, you can simple navigate to the devices notification settings and turn them off.
President Obama’s presidential alerts will arrive regardless of a user’s desire.
While WEA messages are always delivered free of charge to all AT&T Wireless customers, the move will likely anger Republicans and Independents who don’t support President Obama. The move may even anger Obama supports who feel their government in recent weeks has overstepped its bounds with the NSA PRISM program .
While the presidential messages are enabled, users shouldn’t expect to see daily messages from the POTUS. Instead, messages will be delivered when issues of national importance are on the docket.
Attacks against America, major natural disasters, impeding disaster — all of those issues may trigger an important Presidential alert. While we might not always want to hear from the President, most of us probably want to know if we need to get out of dodge.
Do you think AT&T Wireless and the US Government is overstepping its bounds by making it impossible to turn off Presidential alerts on your iOS 6.1 and higher devices?
