3 Free iPhone Personal Safety Apps Everyone Should Have
Although women are primarily the targets of violent crime, it can happen to anyone. In the first half of 2023, violent crime levels remain higher than the same timeframe in 2019, before the COVID pandemic. According to the Council on Criminal Justice, there were 24% more homicides during the first half of 2023 than during the first half of 2019 in the study cities.
Despite these statistics, although you should remain aware and use your safety intuition when you’re out and about, you don’t need to walk around on high alert – it’s draining and counter-productive. As we discuss in our book, there some easy-to-implement tactics you can use to increase your personal safety. And as part of a layered defensive living strategy, your iPhone can help keep you safe.
All of the apps pinpoint your location and can share them with designated contacts. However, there are various features that we like about each one. We reviewed two of these apps (the free version) and look forward to reviewing the third, which will be released later this month (September 2023) as part of Apple’s latest software upgrade: iOS 17. We’re mentioning it now so you can watch for it.
Apple iOS 17 Check In Feature
iOS 17 is an important release for the safety of women and children, and we’ll be discussing it a lot more. But we’re really excited about the new Check In feature. Check In automatically tracks you and texts selected contacts when you’ve safely arrived at your destination, even if you forget to. Hello, friends and family of college students. It can also work with your iWatch, depending on what model you have. You can configure Check In to track your route, notify your contacts if you’ve taken a detour, have a delay or don’t make it to your destination. Don’t worry, you choose who gets contacted at any given time.
If you don’t get to your destination within the expected timeframe, your iPhone will display a popup asking if everything is ok. If you don’t respond within 15 minutes, Check In will alert your designated contact(s) that something may be wrong.
Noonlight
Noonlight is a great app that provides a free button that lets you call for silently call for help. Whenever you’re feeling unsafe, you hold the button in the middle of the screen. When you release the button, you have 10 seconds to put your PIN in to let the app know that you’re ok. If you don’t put your PIN in, a Noonlight dispatcher will call you and can alert authorities and your designated contacts with your location if needed. If you forget your PIN, you can respond to the Noonlight dispatcher via text that you’re ok. You can also just tap the button if you need help. It’s a lot faster and easier than calling 911 if you’re in a potentially dangerous situation.
Other free Noonlight features are pretty impressive:
Timeline: You can easily add information about who you’re meeting, add their picture and where you’re meeting them. Law enforcement can access this information if they need to.
Tinder integration: You can add a Tinder chat directly into the Noonlight Timeline.
TASER Pulse+ integration: When you fire your TASER Pulse+, Noonlight dispatcher are immediately notified of your location.
Add your friends to your Safety Network: Your friends will get a text notifying them that you’ve added them. They can also download Noonlight and add you to their network if they want to.
bSafe
The bSafe app includes a wide range of features, many of which need paid access. The good news is that you can activate the features temporarily for 99 cents if you don’t want to pay the premium. The annual cost isn’t exorbitant, either: $19.99/annually. However, the free version provides SOS alerts, location alerts and enables you to act as a guardian for other users. I mean, exact location sharing, as in bSafe followed me walking around in the house! Premium features include voice activation (so you don’t have to grab your phone to activate the app) and video streaming to your safety network when the SOS button is activated.
We can’t always have someone with us when we’re out and about, but we’re happy that these apps are available to call for help when necessary. Keep in mind that a layered method of defensive living is advised. Also, keep self-defense tools with you that can help you keep yourself safe and even up the fight, if it comes to that. In the meanwhile: Layer up, stay strong and stay safe!
