10 Best Apps To Help You Feel Safe When Walking Home Alone At Night
With the recent tragic disappearance and death of 33-year-old Sarah Everard, many women feel like they have to take extra care when walking home alone at night.
As a female student, you shouldn’t feel like you have to stay in at night when it’s dark, but we do still urge you to always remain vigilant.
If you’re a student returning home from some studying in the library, or on your way home from a night out, you need to remember to remain cautious at all times.
We’ve done our research and found 10 of the best apps out there to help you feel safe when you’re walking home alone at night, let’s take a look.
1. WalkSafe
Approaching 300,000 downloads as of today according to Tech Radar is WalkSafe, a personal safety app.
The app includes a map that shows crime figures taken from monthly reports, whether that be sexual assault, mugging, knife crime, and pickpocketing.
WalkSafe allows you to avoid hotspots on your walk home, to ensure a little more peace of mind.
If you come close to a location where a crime has been reported, the app will alert you, so you can avoid that area.
The handy HomeSafe feature lets you set an estimated time of arrival when you set off and will send your location to an emergency contact if you don’t get home in time.
You can also set a reminder for emergency contacts to check in with you at a specific time.
What’s even better is the TapSafe feature, which allows you to check-in with your friends if you’re feeling unsafe.
You can either tap ‘OK’ every 30 seconds or ‘nervous’ every 10 seconds before your loved ones are alerted and shown your location.
2. Life360
Life360 allows you to stay connected to key contacts wherever they are, when you’re walking home alone at night (or any time!)
You can create your own private groups called “circles” and view the real-time location of those individuals.
On top of this, you can receive alerts when someone arrives or leaves a destination, so you don’t have to send them loads of panic messages!
For this app to work to its full potential, you’ll need a few permissions, but it’s super quick and easy to get started.
With a feature called Driver Care Support, with one push of a button, you can speak to a live representative over the phone.
One con of this app, however, is the fact that there are some paid features, so you really need to weigh up whether you want those features or not.
3. Kitestring
This particular app is simple, free, and very easy to navigate, which is super ideal if you ever find yourself in a stressful situation.
All you need to do is enter a list of emergency contact numbers into your account, and let your app know when you’re going out.
Let it know that you’re going out, and when you plan to return, and the app will text you to check up on you!
If you don’t respond to the SMS, the app will alert the emergency contacts that you haven’t responded.
Don’t worry though, if you’re running late, just let the app know and it’ll let you extend your time or check-in early.
4. Red Panic Button
Whether you find yourself in an unfamiliar part of the city when walking home at night, or you’re on the way to somewhere you’ve never been, you need to be prepared.
The Red Panic Button app has a widget that allows you to immediately inform your loved ones where you are so they can find you.
Though this app is very simple, it’s incredibly effective for personal security, medical emergencies, and your loved ones’ security also.
This app is a true lifeline that will send an SMS and email containing your GPS coordinates and a Google maps link to your emergency contacts.
5. One Scream
One Scream is an incredible app that can actually detect a scream even when it’s at the bottom of your bag.
Once your scream is detected, a text message and an automated call with your location is then sent to your nominated contact.
If you have an Android, the phone line will stay open so your chosen contact can hear, identify, and get help.
The app is all about giving users the confidence to feel safe and secure when they’re walking to their destination.
You can add up to 3 people to be notified when you need help, and you have 20 seconds to cancel the alarm if you need to.
Please note, One Scream can only detect panic screams, it can’t detect any other words.
6. Hollie Guard
As seen on BBC’s Crimewatch Roadshow, Hollie Guard Extra is a personal safety app that provides real-life alert notifications if you’re in danger.
A generic alarm profile can be customised with a picture of your choice, and a second shake will produce a flashing light and a high-pitched beep.
It also has a “stealth alert”, perfect for situations where you don’t want any attention to be raised!
The Deterrent feature will ensure a flashing light and high-pitched beep on your phone, to make sure passers-by are fully aware of a dangerous situation.
7. Silent Beacon
The Silent Beacon app is totally free and sends your GPS location in real-time.
The safety app lets you instantly connect with multiple loved ones in an emergency and shares your location.
You can set up primary contacts and voice alerts, with no mandatory monthly fees, unlike some other apps.
With just one touch, you can send text messages, push notifications, emails, and voice calls to your primary contacts.
One of the best aspects of this app, is the fact that it’s incredibly easy to navigate – which is very ideal if you’re in a dangerous situation.
8. SOS Stay Safe
If you want to use your smartphone as a safety device, SOS Stay Safe allows you to do just that.
What separates this app from the others is the fact that it sends the device’s battery level to an emergency contact.
It’ll also send a recorded audio clip with just a shake of the device – a discreet way of recording without alerting suspicion.
SOS Stay Safe will send a text message or email to your selected contacts and your location will be sent at regular intervals.
This will help your key contact to work out whether you’re on the move or not, another great unique feature.
9. bSafe
With this app, users can activate the SOS button by touch or voice, and your key contacts will get a sound alarm with your location.
They’ll be able to see and hear everything in real-time, recorded with audio and video, and sent across.
The live streaming feature is what makes this app a reliable one when walking home alone at night.
You can also invite key contacts to join you on your journey via the app map, and this way, you know you’re being watched.
Users can get a fake phone call to get out of unpleasant situations, and notify friends when they’ve checked in.
10. Shake2Safety
The Shafe2Safety app lets you send text messages to emergency contacts, as well as share pictures and audio in emergency situations.
By shaking the phone or pressing the power button 4 times, you can send as many text messages as you like to primary contacts, but only one phone call.
It’ll work on a locked screen, and also when you have no internet connection, ideal for when you’re walking home alone at night.
You can now send a picture of the emergency situation to your contact, and it’ll share your location too.
We hope you found this blog useful, the safety of an individual whether they’re a student or not is extremely important. Walking home alone at night can be very daunting, and taking these steps are, unfortunately, entirely necessary.