Turning your smartphone into a watchdog
View(s):How safe do you feel? Being able to contact friends and family for help in an emergency could make a huge difference to your confidence when venturing out alone – it could also help you survive a threatening encounter or a medical emergency. While some of these apps were designed for women only, others recognize that men could use a hand as well. While it’s hard to put a price tag on safety, these are all free. Here’s how to turn your smartphone into a watchdog.
1. OnWatch
The creators of this award winning app say they created the app in response to the statistic that 1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted while in college. You can use OnWatch to alert friends and emergency responders when you need to. It also allows you to send time based alerts, for example if you do not reach home safely in an hour. You can easily inform your friends when you are safe with your GPS location. OnWatch was the winner of the U.S. Government’s Apps Against Abuse Challenge.
Cost: Free
Runs on Android and Iphone
2. Guardedly
This app differs from others of its kind in several ways. For starters it’s more detailed: it places a phone call to your contacts with your name, exact location, the type of emergency. (You can choose which person on your list should be contacted for which type of emergency: perhaps your mother for “Peanut Allergy” or your neighbour for when you’re walking home alone.)
There’s also a profile page where you can include personal information such as birthdate, eye/hair color, height, weight, blood type, plus medical information including existing conditions, allergies, medications, your doctor’s name and phone number, insurance details and policy number. The subscription service enables responders to connect by conference call, and also texts/emails the group a link to an emergency response site where they can exchange messages, send photos, and locate each other on a map.
Cost: There are free and subscription versions
Runs on iPhone, iPod Touch, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7
3. CircleOf6
Reach out to six of friends when you need their help. You can use the app to send out a ‘I need you to come and get me’ SMS to selected friends along with a GPS location. Stuck in an awkward date or want to get out of a confrontation? Another preprogramed text allows you just ask a friend to call you. Think you need more serious help? Call a national hotline or local emergency numbers. CircleOf6 was also a winner in the White House Apps Against Abuse Technology Challenge.
Cost: Free
Runs on iPhone and Android
4. bSafe
Simply download the app, add as many friends you want to notify in case of emergency or threatening situations. When you press the SOS button, the bSafe app will send a SMS text message to all your bsafe friends and even call a friend to pick you up, while indicating your current map location.
Cost: Free
Runs on iPhone, Android and Blackberry
5. Life360
Where is everyone in your family? Billed as a ‘family locator app’ Life360 can be used to connect everyone in your immediate family, allowing you to communicate instantly and track GPS locations in real time. Clearly not an app for the privacy conscious, this one requires everyone in the family to download and install Life360. In case of an emergency, you can send panic alerts via text, email and phone call. Ideal for parents of young kids who would like to keep tabs on them as they travel to and from school. Winner of the Webby award for Best Use of GPS or Location Technology.
Cost: Free
Runs on iPhone, Android and Blackberry
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