For those who feel unsafe stepping out alone
Women safety has always been a debatable issue in our country. With the crime rate increasing at an alarming pace, safety for women has become a matter of concern. From cases of molestation, kidnapping to sexual abuse and rapes, the list continues to grow with the number of cases increasing, every passing day. According to a report of National Crime Records Bureau, the crime against women rose from 41.7% to 53.9% between 2011 to 2015 with Delhi topping the list. In the year 2015, Delhi UT has reported the highest crime rate of 184.3% compared to 56.3% at all India level followed by Assam (148.2%), Telangana (83.1%), Odisha (81.9%), Rajasthan (81.5%), Haryana (75.7%) and West Bengal (73.4%).
The data itself depicts a horrific situation in the country. No doubt, the government is working on reducing the crimes cases surrounding women and has taken several steps to overcome that, but when it comes to implementation, it takes years in properly establishing these measures. Add another couple of years for getting justice, if a case reaches the court.
Technology has reduced the complexities of life and has given immense power to people by allowing everything within the reach of their hand. Connecting with people is just a click away bringing the other person near to you, virtually. Your peers can reach out to you easily from anywhere around the world. In accordance to this, our government is working constantly to provide every service to the people easily within their reach using different platforms. The Digital India initiative fueled this approach further.
Here in this piece, we discuss various women safety apps that are available for free on Android and iOS so that the women never feel alone and unsafe whenever they set out.
Himmat
The app is launched by Delhi Police and is highly recommended to the women in Delhi. For using the app, the user has to download the app from the Play Store or App Store. After that, the user will receive an OTP which has to be entered to complete the configuration of the app. If a user gets into some trouble, she just has to send an SOS alert message from the app which will directly send her location and audio-video information to the Delhi Police control room. After which the nearest police will be informed and they can reach to help the victim on time.
bSafe – Personal Safety App
bSafe is a personal safety app that allows the users to set up their own social personal safety network of friends, family, and coworkers. The app features a Live GPS tracking method through which the contacts can trace the user’s movement whereever he/she is. It also has an automatic alarm, called Timer Mode, that will trigger if the user has not checked in time. The user can also make the phone ring itself using the Fake Call feature in which he/she can also define the identity of the caller.
The app also has a Guardian Alert button that promises to notify the contacts about the location of the user and send the video of the current situation to them.
CitizenCOP
CitizenCOP is a location based safety app. As the name suggests, it allows the user to report any criminal or illegal activity anonymously. The user can also call the police and can report about the lost or stolen articles. Keeping women safety in mind, the app comes with features like live tracking, emergency calls, and SOS alert so that the chosen contacts can locate the user when they are in trouble.
The other features of the app include the latest news and traffic updates, checking if a vehicle is stolen or towed and creating a safe zone with eLakshmanRekha.
Hawk Eye – Telangana Police
The app is offered by the IT cell Hyderabad Police and offers a variety of services to the user. The highlight of the app is its feature called, Women Travel Made Safe. This feature ensures the safety of working women who travel alone especially during odd hours of the day. All they have to do is click the photograph or video of the vehicle before boarding, note down vehicle no., place of boarding and send it online to police. They can send the details of their traveling experience after reaching the destination.
In case of emergency, the women travelers can send the alert message by using the SOS Button feature. When used, this feature sends a pre-recorded message to five chosen contacts and to the Inspector, ACP, DCP, and Mobile Patrolling vans of the concerned area based on the location of the user. Apart from location details, the message also comprises of the name, address and the phone number of the user.
VithU: V Gumrah Initiative
VithU is an emergency app that starts sending the alert messages to the designated receivers or guardians of the user in every two minutes at the click of the power button two times consecutively. The message that is sent reads, "I am in danger. I need help. Please follow my location." The receiver will also get a link to the user’s location along with the message which will provide the details of the updated location of the user in every two minutes.
The app also comes with a “Tips Feed” option that provides safety tips to the user in an emergency situation.
Smart 24x7- Personal Safety App
In this app, the user can get the instant help by just following a three step easy procedure. This includes pressing the PANIC Button, selecting the types of services required and submitting the request. The PANIC Button sends a panic alert to selected receivers during the emergency situation and if GPRS is not working the alert message is generated by SMS.
Just like the bSafe app, this app also has Fake Call feature for handling any difficult situation smartly. The app also keeps a record of audio and photographs of the panic situation and transfers it to the police. Its 24x7 call center promises to assist the user during the emergency situation. Its other features include sharing travel alerts with contacts, chat with friends, maid/servant registration with police and status update. This application can also be used by Senior citizens to secure them when they are in distress by sending SOS signals to their loved ones.
Tell Tail
Tell Tail is an app developed by DIMTS (Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd) to provide a helping hand to women and other citizens while traveling. The user can share its location with his/her contacts by either using the GPS installed in auto, bus or any public transport vehicle or using the GPS of his/her own phone.
The app also offers the SOS message feature where the user can send the alert message in three ways by clicking on the panic button or clicking the power button three times or shaking the phone three times with a little bit of jerk. Also, if any of the registered contacts do not have TelTail installed in their phones the message is still sent to them either by ringing an alarm or by sharing the tentative location of the user.
My Safetipin: Personal Safety & Women Safety App
So far we have seen a variety of apps that are designed for the safety of the users. But, My Safetipin is slightly different app. Apart from sending the location of the user and alert messages to the contacts in emergency situations, this app helps the user in taking safer decisions, especially when traveling in the night. By safer decisions we mean, it allows the user to take the safest route to reach their destination on the basis of the safety score of the area. The app calculates the safety score of a place on the basis of certain parameters like visibility, diversity, crowd, public transport, walk path, security etc. and alerts the user when they enter any unsafe location.