Personal safety app

A personal safety app or SOS app is a mobile application which can be used to aid personal safety. Such apps received increased prominence in the media after the 2012 Delhi gang rape case[1] and consequent protests against "brutal rapes, molestation and mistreatment of women".[2]

Features

The apps include various features, including sending text messages, e-mails, IMs, or even Tweets[3] to close friends (containing approximate location,[1] audio snippets and pictures[3]) or emitting a loud intermittent "shrill whistle" in the manner of a rape alarm.[1] Additional features include geofencing and preventive alerts.[3] Some apps allow to customize the alert message sent and the ringtone that signals the reception of a new alert.

They normally include different triggering mechanisms to cope with different emergency situations.[3] Common triggering mechanisms include pressing and holding the phone's switch button for a few seconds, shaking the phone vigorously, tapping on an alert button, and even loud screaming sound which the app can detect.[4] When the alert signal is triggered, these apps automatically go to work, sending text messages and emails with exact location of the user to emergency contacts listed on the app.

Feature comparison between some personal safety apps
Features Eyewatch Musketeer Daak LifeLine Response Personal Edition Guardian Safety App Citizen COP VithU bSafe - Personal Safety Alarm React Mobile - Personal Safety App SahAya - Emergency Alert EmergenSee Personal Safety App DateScan - Dating Safety App
Free for all Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
SOS Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Video or Call recording, activation with SOS Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
SafeZone Yes
Police Phone Directory Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Emergency Help
(Police, Ambulance, ATM)		 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Police Notifications Yes Yes Yes
Stolen Vehicle Check Yes
Traffic Forecast Yes
Towed Vehicle Information Yes
Location-based crime reporting Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Share your Location Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Close Group Location Tracking Yes Yes Yes Yes
Integrated Social Media Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Collects Evidence Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Reception

Clinical research associate[1] at BGS Global Hospital, Denet Pradeep, was of the opinion in early 2013 that such apps are ineffective without modification.[1]

One Indian media professional noted the vague location information and the sometimes convoluted functionality, saying "You'd rather run away than [scroll to and] activate [the app]."[1] She suggested that developers incorporate functionality which doesn't rely on the internet, because of the poor 3G connectivity in India in 2012.[1]

Keshet Bachan, gender equality activist and blogger at Girls Report questioned in 2012 the effectiveness of such apps in preventing violence against women.[5]

List of personal safety apps

Key: A(ndroid) B(lackBerry) i(OS) N(okia) S(ymbian) W(indows) W(eb)
Title Platform
A B i N S W W
DateScan - Dating Safety App[6] Yes
Bachao[7] N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
bSafe[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][4] Yes Yes Yes
Cab4me[9][10][13][15] Yes Yes
CircleOf6[9][10][12][15][16][17][18][19][4] Yes Yes
Citizen COP[20][21] Yes Yes
Daak[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Yes
Delhi Helpline[15]
EmergenSee[30] Yes Yes
EyeWatch[12][15][17] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
FightBack[8][9][10][11][12][15][16][18][31] Yes Yes Yes
Guardly[9][10][12][15][17][32][33][4] Yes Yes Yes Yes
React Mobile[34] Yes Yes
Hollaback![9][10][11][12][15][35] Yes Yes
I Am Safe[15] Yes
ICE Mumbai Police[8] Yes
iStaySafe Yes
Kitestring[36][4] Yes
Life 360[8][9][10][16][18][37] Yes Yes Yes
LifeLine Response[38] Yes Yes
LifePlug[39] Yes
me Against Rape[11]
Musketeer - Help anywhere, anytime[40] Yes Yes
MyWitness[41] Yes
OnWatch[9][10][33] Yes Yes
SahAya - Emergency Alert App Yes
Safe[16]
SafeCity.IN[11] Yes Yes Yes
PerSOS[3][42] Yes Yes
Scream Alarm[15]
Sentinel[7][9][10][15][37] Yes Yes Yes Yes
ShakeSOS[14] Yes
SOS - Stay Safe![43][44][45] Yes
SOS Whistle[8][11][12][14][16] Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
StaySafe Personal[46] Yes Yes
StreetSafe[9][10][19] Yes Yes Yes Yes
YWCA Alert[8][18] Yes Yes

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Distress apps: How safe?
  2. ↑ 10 Best Mobile Apps For Women Safety In India | AppConsumer
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 A multilingual comprehensive solution for personal safety | PerSOS
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 10 Personal Safety Apps to Keep You Protected | SnappTips
  5. ↑ Can mobile phone apps prevent violence against women?
  6. ↑ DateScan - Dating Safety App
  7. 1 2 More apps click to women's rescue
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 All apps to the rescue
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10 Best Women Safety Apps For Self Defense and Security
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Top 10 Mobiles apps for womens safety
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Top 10 Best FREE Android, iPhone, Symbian Apps For Women & Kids Safety - Page 2
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Is safety for women really just a click away?
  13. 1 2 10 Best Mobile Apps For Women Safety In India - Page 5
  14. 1 2 3 Top 10 Best FREE Android, iPhone, Symbian Apps For Women & Kids Safety - Page 3
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 10 Apps for Women Safety and Security
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Now, mobile apps for your safety - Times Of India
  17. 1 2 3 Top 10 Best FREE Android, iPhone, Symbian Apps For Women & Kids Safety - Page 1
  18. 1 2 3 4 Best Mobile Apps that Safeguard Women
  19. 1 2 10 Best Mobile Apps For Women Safety In India - Page 4
  20. ↑ Safety-SOS and Voluntary Crime Reporting by Citizen COP APP
  21. ↑ Now, mobile app to lodge complaints
  22. ↑ A new look at safety
  23. ↑ Digital World 2015: Showcasing ideas, technologies and innovations
  24. ↑ Daak: The App We Wanted Most This Year
  25. ↑ A divergent fighting for a cause
  26. ↑ Daak: Calling For Help When You Need It The Most
  27. ↑ জাতীয় হ্যাকাথনে শীর্ষ ১০ উদ্ভাবন
  28. ↑ জাতীয় হ্যাকাথন ২০১৪ তে বিজয়ী ১০ টি প্রকল্পের বিস্তারিত বর্ণনা
  29. ↑ Creating your own protection
  30. ↑ "How To Get 'Shark Tank's EmergenSee App, a Super High-Tech Personal Safety Product". Bustle. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  31. ↑ 10 Best Mobile Apps For Women Safety In India - Page 1
  32. ↑ Personal Safety App - Downloads for Mobile Devices | Guardly
  33. 1 2 10 Best Mobile Apps For Women Safety In India - Page 2
  34. ↑
  35. ↑ 10 Best Mobile Apps For Women Safety In India - Page 6
  36. ↑ App offers new form of security when traveling alone
  37. 1 2 10 Best Mobile Apps For Women Safety In India - Page 3
  38. ↑ LifeLine Response
  39. ↑ LifePlug
  40. ↑
  41. ↑ Introducing MyWitness Your Personal Safety App
  42. ↑ Crean Aplicacion de Seguridad Personal
  43. ↑ Now, an app for personal safety - Times Of India
  44. ↑ Just shake your phone to send an SOS text - Pune - DNA
  45. ↑ New Mobile App turns Smartphones into Personal Safety Devices-VARINDIA
  46. ↑ Gadget Show: StaySafe App hits Android - location tracking with a twist
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