

AngelSense is a GPS tracking device designed for kids with special needs such as autism.

Wearables equipped with a GPS tracker like a watch or jewelry have mobile apps too. Messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger or Google Hangouts also allow you to share your location. “My guardians are my friends, families and my neighbors and I don’t want them to know where I am at all times.” “We only track you and share your location during an alert,” he said. The company’s CEO and co-founder Mark Jeffrey said the app was built with privacy in mind. Ride-hailing service Uber released a feature this year that allows families to follow the car trip of a loved one on a map.Īnother app Guardian Circle lets users send four type of alerts - emergency, urgent, request and only a test - along with a location and message to a group of people called “guardians” who agree to watch each other’s backs. Meanwhile, new safety apps and tools continue to roll out. If you don’t enter a pin, police will be notified that you’re in danger and a safety assistant will text or talk to you until law enforcement arrives.

You release the button and enter a 4-digit pin when you feel safe. The app is free, but offers premium services for $4.99 per month that include a 24/7 live adviser you can call for roadside assistance or to direct emergency responders to your location, stolen phone protection and other features.įeeling scared walking alone? SafeTrek, which costs $2.99 per month and is available on the Apple Watch, has a button users hold down. Users create private groups to share their location in real time, which is displayed on a map, and send messages or alerts. With 50 million users, Life360 is a popular way families continually check up on loved ones. Google, Facebook, Uber and other companies are releasing or updating more personal safety tools as the world experiences mass shootings, terror attacks and natural disasters such as floodings and earthquakes. Through mobile apps, wearables and social media sites, a growing number of people are quickly alerting family and friends when they need help, are in danger or that they’re safe. “Your mind is just in another world and it was wonderful to be able to get a hold of everyone with one press of a button,” the Arizona resident said. They called Edwards to find out what was wrong, someone offered to pick up her daughter and news of her son’s health scare - he survived - spread fast. In minutes, a select group of loved ones received a prewritten message with her location via a notification and e-mail. Instead, the 57-year-old sent an alert for help through Life360, an app that her family and friends use to share their whereabouts with one another. When Grace Edwards heard her son had suffered a heart attack, she felt so weak at the knees that even typing a group text or dialing a phone number seemed daunting.
