Ever walked back to your car late at night and just had an uneasy feeling?  How about when you are home alone and someone knocks at the door? Maybe you recently sent your child off to a school away from home and you worry about them walking around? I know I personally had a scare where a loud crash happened late at night and it would have been nice to know I had some kind of backup.

Well, now there is an app for that!

SafeTrek is an app that will call the police to the scene in the event you may need them.  It is simple to use.  It works a lot like those movie bombs that have a pressure switch on them.  “If I let go, the whole place goes up.”  Well, if you let go of the button, the app calls for help.

The apps design is meant to be simple to use in a situation that may be very stressful.  There is a button in the center of the screen that the user presses and holds until they reach safety.  Once safe, the user releases the button and enters a pin within 10 seconds and they are allowed to continue on with their day safely.  However, if the button is released and no pin is entered, the app will send your GPS location to the police and notify them of an emergency.

The app itself is free but to use it is a subscription at 3$ per month.  Compared to other personal safety or alarm apps on the market, this is a bargain.  I spoke with SafeTrek and recommended tiered family pricing.  Advice which I hope they take as this subscription only covers 1 device.  However, most home security systems cost $60 per month and only help to protect your things.  SafeTrek helps protect your person anywhere you may be.  When put into that light, you can see how this personal alarm system is a steal compared to what some may have in their homes today.

SafeTrek has 24/7 call centers that text you that they are about to call when the pin is not entered.  They then call and ask you for your pin verbally by your name.  They do this as a foolproof system to not have the cops dispatched if you don’t need them.  SafeTrek provides police with your name, phone number, current GPS location, and any emergency details.  This cuts down police response time as this is all the information police typically collect in the initial call.  Furthermore, SafeTrek is on your phone already.   It already knows your location to an area smaller than 10 meters.  Police can triangulate a position, but it can take up to 4 minutes for up to a 300-meter accuracy.

SafeTrek is also working on expanding the app to give it more functionality and more user data.  They currently share the data they collect from where users feel unsafe to look at the effects of out street lights or to share with police to increase a presence in the area. A SafeTrek representative states:

We share our data with both local and national agencies, we have even shared our data with public transportation systems, realty organizations, and universities. The “unsafe data” we have collected through SafeTrek is unique and we’re only in the early stages of understanding how to leverage it inside communities.

In the interest of disclosure,  SafeTrek submitted a year of this app for my review and I will be keeping it even after this subscription ends.  What I was most impressed with was the complete test I did at 1 A.M. and did not get an outsourced call center.  It was nice to know that the person helping wasn’t across oceans and continents.  If you decide to join me in this expanding application, SafeTrek encourages a full test.  They do not charge more for testing or false alarms (although the police may not be too happy if they come for nothing).  They will not charge you extra for legitimate calls either.  In fact, the only negative I found about this app is the fact I have to unlock my phone to get to it.  I will be looking for a way to run this app from my lock screen to make it quicker to access.

If you want to join me in leading a safer lifestyle, you can go to SafeTrek’s website or visit them on Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.