SafeTrek is an app created by a small group University of
Missouri students and recent grads and is based on the idea that when you are
in danger you usually don’t have an opportunity to get your phone out and dial
911. This is especially true for me, since I almost always have a huge bag
(which my phone is always somewhere near the bottom of) and I get flustered
easily in high stress situations.
Long story short, if someone ever attacked me, I’d be in
huge trouble.
So basically this app helps protect people like me if they
are ever walking alone or feel unsafe. When you open the app it looks like
this:
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| The home screen for the app |
All you have to do is put your thumb (or finger) on the big
teal button and hold it there until you feel like you are in a safe area again.
When you let go, you have 10 seconds to enter in your PIN to deactivate the
app. If you aren’t able to do this for some reason, the application
automatically calls the local police and sends them to the GPS location of your
phone. At this time they will also be able to access your personal information
that you entered ahead of time to make sure the police can find you and ensure
your safety.
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| You have 10 seconds to enter your pin or you can call 911 immediately |
I think it’s pretty obvious that I think this application is
a brilliant idea but I do have a few criticisms. First of all, when you open
the app you can immediately click on the teal button to start the tracking. I
see why this is may be beneficial, if you only have a few seconds to turn on
the application before you are attacked, it is great to have easy access.
However, it is not uncommon for my little sister to use my phone to play games
and if she were to open the app and press the button without knowing my PIN, we
could have the cops knocking down the door to my house.
Secondly, I am a little skeptical as to how well these
services would actually work in a real life situation. While GPS technology is
quite advanced, it is not uncommon to be in a dead zone where either your phone
can’t locate your position or thinks you are somewhere ridiculous (like in the
middle of the ocean).
Lastly, the design of the app has some room for improvement.
While the concept behind the application is not very complicated, the
instructions screen in the application has several pictures describing how to
use the app and very few (if any) words.
All and all, I think this application is a must download.
There are a few kinks for the creators to iron out but, since it is only a few
days old, I am sure they will get it ironed out soon.
You can download the app in the App Store for $0.99:
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