Tech alert: Mobile safety app for women

Till the time the Delhi Police and the government get their act together to make the streets safer for women, they can rely on technology.

Till the time the Delhi Police and the government get their act together to make the streets safer for women, they can rely on technology.

HT Image

Apart from the all-weather pepper spray, a city-based tech firm has come up with 55100 Emergency alerts --- country's first mobile phone-based alert service.

When a subscriber is in trouble, needs help or needs to notify he/she is safe, all that is required to be done is one quick mobile phone call. Even if the call is disconnected as soon as it is answered, it will immediately send an automatic voice and text message alerts to 10 of the pre-defined numbers.

It will also flash a message on their phone screens.

"It works on even the most basic handsets and does not require internet access, Wi-fi, GPS, GPRS or even a subscription balance," says Alka Pandey, a 30-year-old software engineer.

For Alka, who has been using the application, it has come as a boon.

"Wherever I am, my husband, my four sisters and my mother and father-in-law know my location," she said.

The subscriber's nearest location information is transmitted with the help of advanced location-based technology and mobile networks.

Babita Raturi, 27, said, "In an unsafe city like Delhi, it can prove very handy."

Available for Airtel subscribers at a nominal charge of Rs. 30 for an unlimited usage in a month, the service was started a month ago. It will soon be available for Vodafone subscribers as well as other operators.