Can you turn off Amber Alerts in your phone?
Some Americans were jolted awake Wednesday morning and were left confused and wide awake. At approximately 4 a.m. ET, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children sent out an Amber alert that went to the smartphones in the New York area.
The Amber alert was issued for the abduction of 7-month old Mario Danner, who was last seen with Marina Lopez -- his non-custodial mother -- in Queens, NY.
According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the notification is sent out when a child has been kidnapped and is "facing grave danger." Anyone with information can call 1(866)-NYS-AMBER.
New Yorkers reacted on Twitter with confusion at why the alert was issued so early in the morning. Some thought there was a life-threatening emergency.
"Can you try not to send out Amber Alert at 3:51 am? I was sleeping until that time," @hongt2k tweeted.
"Really fun to discover that my iPhone features an Amber Alert push notification at literally 4:00a," @rodb tweeted.
"I literally thought the city was under attack. Scariest wake up ever. #AmberAlert," @KristinNehls tweeted.
The system is a partnership between the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Notifications are delivered through the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) program -- much like extreme weather alerts.
There is a way to opt out of the service.
Those who want to manage subscriptions and either opt in or out, mobile phone owners can send the keyword "help" to the short code 26237 (AMBER). To enroll or modify, send the keyword "Amber + 5-digit zip code." To cancel send the keyword "stop."
Smartphone users can also turn off the notification in their settings.
Apple's iPhone has a setting under Notifications for Government Alerts. Amber and Emergency alerts are both listed, and can be turned off. Android users can go to Wireless & Network under Settings, select More and then Cell Broadcasts.
