Facebook's Safety Check feature was used in Ecuador this weekend, after an earthquake with a magnitude reading of 7.8 on the Richter scale, occurred near the coastal city of Esmeraldas.
Tremors were felt throughout the country, as well as in neighbouring Colombia, killing as many as 270 people and injuring at least 2 500.
Facebook's Safety Check sends out a message to Facebook users within a specific radius of the crisis, using location services. The message asks the user to check-in and let people know if they are safe. Once the user has checked-in on Facebook, a notification is sent to each of their Facebook friends.
Twitter users, with friends and family in Ecuador, thanked Facebook for activating the feature. Hillary Lynch tweeted: "Incredibly grateful that my friends in Ecuador are safe after the 7.8 earthquake. Shout out to Facebook for their safety check-in feature."
Another user, Bermon Painter, tweeted: "There are very few things that I like about Facebook. The Safety Check is one of the few. Helpful to see friends/family check in."
The feature was last year slated when it was activated for the Paris bombings and not similar acts of terror in Beirut.
At the time, it said it was testing the feature for terrorism attacks, as previously it had only been used in the aftermath of natural disasters.
The feature was originally developed after the social network observed how people used technology, during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, to let others know they were safe.
The social network has since activated the feature more frequently. It was used earlier this year in the Ivory Coast, Pakistan, Turkey and Belgium.
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