I read a geeky article that I think youll also find amazing.Google quietly used its Android operating system to turn billions of phones into the largest earthquake detection network in human history.Your Android phone can warn you about an earthquake before the shaking even starts. Its built right in. You can do the same with your iPhone, too.FOLDABLE PHONES ARE IMPRESSIVE TECHNOLOGICAL MARVELS BUT COME WITH SERIOUS COMPROMISESWere giving away a new iPhone 16 Pro (a $999 value). No purchase required.Enter to win now.Earthquakes begin with fast, subtle P-waves. Those are the early rumbles most people dont feel at all. But your phones accelerometer (yep, the same sensor that knows when you turn your phone sideways) can detect those waves.When enough Android phones in the same area sense the same motion, Googles system kicks in and sends early alerts to people who are about to get hit by the stronger, slower S-waves. Those are the ones that cause damage.This gives you 15 to 60 seconds of warning. Not much time, but enough to move away from windows, duck under a desk or stop that ladder climb. Seconds matter when the ground starts rolling.IF YOU DONT KNOW ABOUT THESE VIDEO TOOLS, YOURE ALREADY BEHINDAccording to a study inScience, the Android-based earthquake detection network caught over 11,000 real earthquakes between 2021 and 2024.It covers 98 countries and pushes out around 18 million alerts a month.In some cases, people had over a minutes notice before the shaking started. And false alarms? Just three total across more than 1,300 confirmed events. Try getting those odds from your weather app. Thats incredible for a free feature hiding in your phone.MASSIVE SCAM SPREADING DESIGNED TO TRICK YOU AND STEAL YOUR MONEYEven if you dont live on the San Andreas Fault, make sure the setting is on in case you travel to an area where you need it:Got a Wear OS smartwatch? Itll buzz your wrist, too, even if your phones in another room.Apple hasnt enrolled in Quake University (yet). Though iPhones have accelerometers, too, Apple doesnt use them for earthquake detection. If youre on Team iPhone, use the freeMyShake to get alerts from official seismic networks.Award-winning host Kim Komando is your secret weapon for navigating tech.Copyright 2025, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved.