AlertCops: what it is, how it works, and why to keep it next to your family app
It isn't a family app: it's the police in your pocket. What AlertCops does, how to use it in an emergency, and why we recommend it even though it isn't ours.
AlertCops is the official app of Spain's Interior Ministry (launched in 2014, with a new version on May 5, 2026). It's free, made by the National Police and the Guardia Civil, and it does one thing no family app does: talk to the police. We recommend it without hesitation, and we list it in our comparisons for what it is: a complement, not an alternative.
What it does
- Alerts to the Police and the Guardia Civil by type (assault, robbery, harassment, gender violence…), with a chat to the response center, which knows where you are.
- SOS: press the power button five times in a row to send an alert and record ten seconds of audio.
- Share location with up to five contacts for a set time (from 15 minutes to 24 hours).
- Walk with me: lets your contacts know about your journey and whether you've arrived.
- Guardian: for events and routes (yes, the Camino de Santiago too), and Rescue so emergency teams can find you.
What it doesn't do
It isn't a family app: there's no permanent circle, no automatic home arrival alerts, no chat between you, and no battery status for each person. Location sharing is temporary and manual. And, as the app itself says, it doesn't replace 112: for a medical emergency, call.
With your family app, you get both
We say it plainly in the app: Mi Estela puts 112 and AlertCops one tap away from SOS, because they're different things. Your circle sees you on the map, gets your arrival alerts and your SOS with your location; AlertCops alerts the police. A family with both installed covers both the everyday and the serious. Under-14s need parental consent to use AlertCops (in Spain).
