Information Services to Mobile Phones

Getting Information on Your Phone Without a Browser

Not everyone wants to scroll through websites on a small screen, and not every phone handles it well. Text alerts can help if you have a basic handset or prefer not to use mobile data, though they still need mobile network coverage. App notifications need an internet connection, but WiFi may work where mobile reception is poor.

Once you sign up, updates arrive on your phone automatically. Some services still ask you to register through a website or app first. Official alert services send updates directly from the organisation responsible.

How Different Alerts Work

A text alert is a short message sent when something you have asked about happens. You subscribe through a website, an app, or by texting a keyword to a short number. Most mobile phones can receive ordinary SMS messages without mobile data, provided they have network coverage. Delivery is not always immediate, especially during network disruption.

Push notifications come through an organisation's own app. They need a smartphone and a data or WiFi connection. Older handsets may only manage SMS.

Useful UK services include the following. They do not charge a subscription fee, although normal data or messaging charges may apply.

  • Flood warnings: the Environment Agency's Floodline service in England can send warnings by text, phone call or email where your location is covered by a warning service. Natural Resources Wales and SEPA run similar services in Wales and Scotland. Arrangements in Northern Ireland differ, so check official local sources.
  • Met Office: its app can notify you about severe weather warnings where you live.
  • Rail travel: some train operators and rail services offer alerts about delays and cancellations. Check which formats each one provides.
  • BBC News and BBC Sport: both apps offer notifications, but the topics, teams and settings available vary between them.

Government Emergency Alerts are different. They warn about serious threats to life and are broadcast over supported 4G and 5G networks to compatible phones in the affected area, rather than sent as texts or through an app. No registration or mobile data is needed. Many basic and older phones cannot receive them, and phones that are switched off, in flight mode or connected only to WiFi will miss them. An alert can sound loudly even on silent, which could reveal a hidden phone, including one kept by someone experiencing domestic abuse. The GOV.UK Emergency Alerts guidance explains how to turn them off if necessary.

No service guarantees delivery, so do not rely on alerts alone for urgent safety information. You can adjust notification sound, vibration and display settings to suit you.

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Costs and Paid Subscriptions

Commercial services may charge per message or a weekly fee. These premium rate charges are added to your phone bill or taken from pay as you go credit. Before signing up, check:

  • how much each message or subscription costs
  • how often you will be charged
  • how to cancel
  • who runs the service and how to contact them

Providers must give clear information about charges and obtain the required consent. If the price is hidden or vague, walk away. Unexpected alerts can also impersonate public bodies or transport companies, so check through the organisation's official app or website instead of following an unfamiliar link.

Rules, Cancelling and Getting Help

Ofcom took over regulation of premium rate services from the Phone-paid Services Authority on 1 February 2025. Its website explains the current rules and how to report a problem.

For a genuine paid text subscription, follow the cancellation instructions, which commonly involve sending STOP to the service's shortcode. Keep confirmation that you have cancelled, and never reply to suspicious messages. Switching off app notifications does not cancel a paid subscription or stop billing.

If you spot charges you do not recognise, ask the provider for a refund and raise the disputed charges with your mobile network. Your network may be able to identify the service billing you and offer controls on some types of charge, though these vary. If it does not resolve things, use its formal complaints process. Eligible unresolved complaints can then go to its approved alternative dispute resolution scheme. Ofcom does not normally handle individual billing disputes, but Citizens Advice offers free guidance.

Review your notification settings periodically and turn off unwanted alerts.