JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Depending on your service provider, you may have gotten an amber alert notification to your smart phone earlier this morning for missing 2-year-old Denise Hernandez.
That's because the old "opt-in" alert system expired at the end of December. The Federal Communications Commission and Federal Emergency Management Agency transitioned to a wireless emergency alert system nationwide.
The new system changes the notifications to "opt-out," meaning that even if you didn't sign up to receive Amber alerts, you'll automatically receive text-based pop-ups on your phone.
The new system is based on distance to particular cell towers and is automatically built into newer phones.
