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Facebook has finally activated its Safety Check feature for Brussels , after facing hours of calls to turn it on for deadly explosions there .
The tool is meant to allow people to easily tell their friends that they are safe in the wake of a disaster. If Facebook guesses that a user might be in an affected area, then they can mark themselves safe and have that message appear for their friends.
But the tool wasn’t initially turned on in the wake of the apparent attacks in Belgium . Many criticised Facebook for not doing so, especially given that phone networks are largely unavailable in Brussels.
Now the site has activated the tool, around two hours after it was first turned on. It will display for anyone that the site thinks is in Brussels, as well as for people who are friends with people who mark themselves safe.
“Quickly find and connect with friends in the area,” the message that shows up for users says. “Mark them safe if you know they’re OK.”
Show all 30 1 /30In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station A private security guard helps a wounded women outside the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Wounded people receive assistance by rescuers outside the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Rescue workers treat victims outside the Maelbeek underground station
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Passengers waiting to be evacuated from the train between Arts-Lois and Maelbeek
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Emergency services and police work around a metro station after an explosion in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Rescue teams evacuate wounded people outside the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station A woman is evacuated in an ambulance by emergency services after a explosion in a main metro station in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station A Belgian soldier stands guard outside the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels after a blast at this station located near the EU institutions
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Belgian police officers stand outside the Maalbeek metro station in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Belgian policemen and a soldier carrying an injured person after an explosion at the Maelbeek Metro station in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station A view of the train after the explosion in Maelbeek station in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station People receive treatment as emergency services attend the scene after an explosion in a main metro station in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Maelbeek Metro station after an explosion on a train in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Passengers walk on underground metro tracks to be evacuated after an explosion at Maelbeek train station in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station A victim receives first aid by rescuers, near Maalbeek metro station in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Firefighters arrive at the scene near Maalbeek metro station
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Emergency workers arrive at a security perimeter set near Maalbeek metro station in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Emergency rescue workers stretcher an unidentified person at the site of an explosion at a metro station in Brussels
AP
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Police seal off the area at the scene of a blast outside a metro station in Brussels
Reuters
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Emergency personnel are seen at the scene of a blast outside a metro station in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Emergency personnel are seen at the scene of a blast outside a metro station in Brussels
Reuters
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Belgian police and emergency staff arriving in the Wetstraat - Rue de la Loi, which has been evacuated after an explosion at the Maelbeek metro station in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station Smoke rising from the Maalbeek underground, in Brussels, following a blast at the station close to the capital's European quarter
Getty Images
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station People are evacuated from the Schuman station in Brussels
In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels metro station The scene outside the Maalbeek underground in Brussels after the explosion
Heading to the page shows all of a person's friends that have marked themselves safe .
Facebook turned on the Safety Check feature for a non-natural disaster for the first time last November, after the shootings in Paris. It has since been used for other terrorist attacks in Nigeria and in Turkey.
Brussels airport explosion
But its use has also proved controversial, with some people criticising the site for ignoring attacks that happen outside of the West or in developing countries.
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