Siri Shortcut Lets iPhones Record Interactions With Police

A 2-year-old Siri Shortcut is gaining popularity for giving iPhone users the ability to record their interactions with police discreetly.

The shortcut, aptly called “I'm getting pulled over,” will help all iPhone users capture and share footage of every conversation they have with policemen, CNN reported.

Robert Petersen, a Redditor and the creator of the “I'm getting pulled over” Siri Shortcut, created it in 2018. It was first called “Police,” but was later updated and renamed. He said he created the shortcut to give iPhone users to power to keep records of interactions with police just in case something goes wrong.

“I just wanted a way for anyone to have proof of their version of events in the unlikely scenario that something unexpected happens during a police interaction," Petersen told KCTV last year.

"And if 1 in 10,000 people find my shortcut useful at all I'd be glad,” he added.

How it works

As per CNN, the shortcut lets users command Siri to take recordings by simply saying “Hey Siri, I'm getting pulled over.” The voice assistant then pause any music that's playing, activate Do Not Disturb (DND) to block any incoming calls, lower the display's brightness, turn the iPhone's front camera on, then start recording a video.

The shortcut will also send a message to a predesignated contact, informing them that the iPhone user is being pulled over. The message will also include the iPhone user's current location so that the predesignated contact will know.

Once the recording stops, Siri will send a copy of the video to the predesignated contact for safekeeping. The digital assistant will also give the iPhone user, who was pulled over, the option to upload the video to their iCloud or Dropbox account.

Those who want to use the Siri Shortcut will need to install it to their iPhones first. Here's how:

• First, users will need to download the Shortcuts app on their iPhone. The app can be downloaded here.
• Second, users should open the app once downloaded, then tap on Gallery at the bottom right to see available shortcuts.
• Third, users should go to Settings , then scroll down and tap on Shortcuts . Once there, users should toggle Allow Untrusted Shortcuts on.
• Fourth, users should open Safari and download the “ I'm getting pulled over ” shortcut by tapping on Get Shortcut at this link.
• Fifth, once the shortcut opens, users should tap on Add Untrusted Shortcut .
• Sixth, users should choose a contact who will receive alerts and a copy of the video recording in the event that the Siri Shortcut is used, then tap on Done once finished.