  We introduce a new probe designed to keep track of the quantum information
content of a Hawking pair as a function of the distance from the black hole
horizon. We compute the entropy content of this Hawking pair probe via a
semi-classical replica method that relies on free field Wick contractions and
their leading order gravitational back reaction on the black hole horizon area.
We find that the information transfer from the black hole state to the Hawking
pair is triggered by a geometric transition that, somewhat surprisingly, takes
place at a macroscopic distance from the horizon. We relate our computation to
recent insights about the role of von Neumann algebras in holography.
