Skype has announced this week that the users in the United States using their service can use Skype to dial 911 from their home computer and that Skype can also share their location with the emergency services if it is needed. This new update for the United States is the latest addition to the list of regions with skype emergency service calling as it was only available in Australia, Denmark, Finland, and the UK till now.

This move from Skype to enable 911 calls Does have a few limitations, but it is very useful for some users who could potentially lose access to a cell phone or landline in an emergency, but do have access to adequate Internet.

In the warning that appears before opting into location sharing for emergencies, Skype says that the service does not operate the same as a traditional phone call and that users are encouraged to not make an emergency call through Skype outside of their home regions. Since the call could get rerouted somewhere else, They also make it clear that a Skype outage, Internet problems, or a power outage in the area can also cut off calls in situations where a traditional telephone will work at its best.

In addition to making 911 calls with Skype, 8.8.0 users can also now leave a 5-minute voice message instead of capping off at 2 minutes in, users will also notice that choice of light or dark mode while they’re on a call, again, since end customer reactions and can zoom in or out when they share their screen.