As a young woman growing up, my parents and other adults have always advised against going out alone at night. However, this is not always avoidable in certain situations, such as returning home from a night shift at work.
Luckily, several apps and services can be used for extra protection when you are feeling uneasy. Below is a compilation of apps that serve this purpose:
Noonlight:
This app allows the user to hold down on a button while walking and release it when they arrive at their destination or a safe location. Once released, the app requires the user to punch in a PIN. If the user is in a dangerous situation and does not feel safe enough to enter the PIN, the police are notified and sent their exact location.
bSafe:
bSafe has a plethora of features: an SOS button, voice activation, a live stream for emergency contacts to view, automatic downloads of video recordings onto the user’s device, fake calls, GPS tracking, and an alarm sent to an emergency contact if the user does not reach their destination by a designated time.
Parachute:
Parachute records the audio, video, and location of a reported incident and sends this information to emergency contacts via email, text message, and phone call. This app also alerts the user when their contacts successfully receive the notification while automatically saving the evidence to the user’s phone.
Kitestring:
Kitestring is not an app, but a texting service that periodically checks on you while you are out alone. The user texts Kitestring the amount of time they will be traveling between destinations. If the user does not send an “OK” text within this timeframe, Kitestring alerts the selected emergency contacts.
These four apps and services are available for everyone to use. Make sure that you and others stay safe by sharing and using them with friends, family, classmates, coworkers — everyone!