Des Delgadillo
Online Editor
With smartphone security dominating the week’s news in tech, personal security also comes into play.
Although various apps exist to safeguard personal information like credit card details, just as many apps have surfaced in the marketplace to help guarantee one’s own personal welfare.
With the proliferation of smartphones, we have reached a point in time where we carry small internet-enabled, GPS tracking devices in our pockets.
Thanks to a few cunning, powerful apps on the market, our phones can be used for more than just Angry Birds.
Whether due to clever disguises or ingenious GPS integration, here are three of the niftiest apps on the market right now with personal security in mind.
All of these apps are available on both Apple’s App Store and Android’s Google Play store.
1 – Aspire News
On the surface, Aspire News looks like any other news aggregator, with stories and news groups running on the front page. But nestled in the app’s “help” section is a multitude of domestic violence resources, as well as a way to discretely request immediate help if in a domestic abuse situation.
The app’s clever disguise makes it a must for anyone who finds themselves in a frightfully overbearing relationship, giving them an easy out any time things start to get a little heavy.
2 – Watch Over Me
Simple yet robust, Watch Over Me puts its users at ease with GPS, SMS and camera integration. Users can choose from a few everyday activities, like “Watch over me while I walk to my car,” or create their own activity.
After that users can set a time limit, and should the time limit expire before users tap the “Confirm safety” button, the app automatically notifies a list of predetermined contacts with a text message containing the user’s exact GPS location.
If users run into a dangerous situation before the countdown runs out, an “instant emergency” button is there to facilitate the same SMS process.
Although the app charges a premium fee of $4 per month, it allows users to add more predetermined contacts to their emergency contact list. React Mobile does not allow users to add more contacts.
3 – React Mobile
Thanks to this GPS-heavy safety app, gone are the obligatory “Text me when you get home” conversations.
What sets React Mobile apart from its App Store and Google Play contemporaries is its “Follow me” feature.
“Follow me” is a relatively straightforward way for predetermined contacts to keep an eye on the user’s GPS location for a preset amount of time.
Users need only tap the “I’m safe” button to kill the geo-tracking.
The free app also packs the ability to send SMS, Facebook updates and tweets containing the user’s GPS coordinates, as well as the ability to automatically take a 10-second video should any emergency situation ever arise.
Des Delgadillo can be reached at desmond.delgadillo@laverne.edu.
