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What is Check In? The latest iOS 17 feature explained

In This Article

In This Article

Apple unveiled a plethora of new hardware devices and software updates atWWDC, including a new Messages app feature.

Apple treated us at WWDC, with the announcement of a newMacBook Air 15-inch (2023),MacBook Pro 14-inch (2023),Mac Studio (2023)and the long-awaitedApple Vision ProVR headset, but there was more than just hardware reveals.

Apple also announcediOS 17, the latest version of the iPhone’s operating system. We’ve already touched on some of the new features, includingLive Voicemail, theJournal AppandStandby mode, but today we want to look at the latest Messages update, Check In.

What is Check In?

What is Check In?

Check In is a new feature to the Messages app, and it should come in handy for the more forgetful among us. It automatically sends your location, as well as other key information, to selected contacts.

This is ideal for scenarios where you’ve promised to send a check-in message to a friend or family member, but it slips your mind once you get home. This update can do that for you, with your iPhone tracing the route you took on your journey and sending alerts to contacts if you’ve been delayed, deviated from your route, or don’t make it home at all.

You can also toggle it to send vital information such as battery life or signal levels, giving more peace of mind to your loved ones. This is all set up by the user, so you can pick and choose which contacts you want to inform at any given time.

Apple stated that all this information will be encrypted, but has not specified the details surrounding this. We will be sure to update this article once we know more.

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When will Check In be available to download?

Apple states that Check In, among many of the other new iOS 17 features, will be available to download by mid-September. This will come at the same time as the next-generation iPhone drop, so we can expect theiPhone 15to launch with this feature already available.

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Gemma joined Trusted Reviews as a staff writer after graduating from Leeds Beckett University with a Journalism degree. She’s worked with national outlets, covering breaking news stories to reviews fo…

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Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.

Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.

Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.

We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.