Keeping your personal data safe is one thing but what about your personal safety? On a daily basis, people go missing, get hurt, mugged, among other tragic situations and though sometimes, avoidance isn’t possible, there are other times where something could be done about it. A mobile development app company in London created an app for personal safety called Circle which offers everything from checking in with friends and family to calling for help, finding local safety spots and emergency contact numbers.
Circle is an app created for London, to keep you safe in the city but what about other people who aren’t residing in London who also value their personal safety? Well, don’t worry! There are plenty of apps out there to help with your safety and I will be sharing a list of the most effective ones with you.
1. Watch Over Me
Watch over me is a fantastic app for personal safety. You can set timers for how long the app “watches over you” and there is an "I’m safe" button to press before the time runs out to let the app know that you are indeed, safe.
If you don’t press the I’m safe button before the time runs out then a notification will be sent to friends and loved ones to be made aware of the situation and the app will provide them with an exact location and map of where you are.
You can also upload pictures, videos, contacts etc that will be sent when loved ones are notified as a way of helping find you. If you truly are in danger, you can shake your phone which will immediately send out an alert even if your phone is locked.
Once you have shaken your phone it will also activate your phone's camera and alarm to potentially catch the danger you are in and to alert people around you.
Among the already fantastic features, Watch over me has street ratings and reports which will notify you if you are entering a high-crime area and give you the option to activate watch over mode.
It is mostly marketed towards girls but I highly recommend this app for anyone, it doesn’t matter whether you are male or female it is still a great app.
Watch over me is a free app but also offers a paid option for $4.99 yearly where it also works offline via SMS and the best part is, you don’t have to pay for a single message the app sends out.
2. StaySafe
Stay Safe is another app which turns your mobile into a powerful safety andGPS tracking tool. Not only does it work by sending SMS alerts and emails, it also works if your phone is switched off, damaged or out of battery.
When setting up the app you will be prompted to enter a 4 digit pin and this will be how you check in or turn off tracking mode. When you turn on tracking mode, you will enter the duration you expect to be alone and what you are doing, so if you are walking home and expect it to take 20 mins then that will be how long the app tracks you for.
To disable the tracking you must enter your 4 digit pin, otherwise when the session expires an emergency alert will be sent out to your contacts along with location information and other details you have provided.
This app is very detailed in what you can do, for example; if you are getting into a taxi alone and expect it to take 50 mins you can set this but what you can also do is set the arrival location and even provide the licence plate for the taxi. If you feel unsafe or a situation is about to escalate you can press panic to alert people to the situation.
Stay safe costs $4.99 and includes everything, it even covers the cost of SMS so you don’t have to worry about that.
3. Send Help
Send help has a very simplistic concept built for speed and ease of use. All you have to do is set your emergency contacts and you are ready to go! Send help also allows you to customise your help message, send your location to Facebook and twitter and even provides a Google maps link for your location.
If you do find yourself in trouble or in a dangerous area, not only can you send an alert out but you can also make friends and loved ones aware of the area. The design is simply, just a panic button that you press to send out alerts and it is completely free.
4. EyeWatch
Eye Watch is easily one of the best personal safety apps due to it having many features for different scenarios. As with all of the apps you can send alerts, GPS tracking etc to emergency contacts if you are in danger but Eye Watch also offers help for medical alerts, personal alerts, travel alerts and security alerts.
The reason this app is popular for personal safety is because it records audio before activation and video for 20-seconds of the situation you find yourself in. Once an alert has been sent off your contacts will be given an alert but also a link to the audio and video clips, as well as pictures from your last location to help aid you.
Eye watch will alert your contacts without drawing attention to anyone or the situation so it can be dealt with discretely in case there is a real threat of danger. It also works offline and when you confirm you are safe it will send out an alert to your contacts to let them know everything is okay.
With the newest versions, it also offers an option to report directly to authority and they even have a version of the app directed towards women that include a sexual harassment alert.
The app is completely free to use and is one of the more higher rated ones on the app stores.
Personal safety is very important, your well-being should be taken seriously. No matter how much of a cautious person you are there is always a risk of danger and some circumstances are uncontrollable and this is what these apps are designed to help with, to make sure you stay safe and can receive help very quickly if you do find yourself in any danger.
