Comments on: iPhone Emergency App: Not Without Limitations

By: adspedia

adspedia — Thu, 19 May 2011 00:18:16 +0000

I have read very carefully the review and the comments by developer. I have found another app, which solved the issue of location tracking limitations of internet, in the way that if WiFi signal is not available, the app can triangulate the position by measuring the positioning signal of the nearest 3 carrier towers and the distress notification being sent out, contains also the local GMT time when it was triggered.

This way if you are a parent in Germany and your kid is in Sahara on a school-safari, and their bus gets high-jacked, you will be able to call local police and beside position of the call, give them their local time when the event occurred.

The app website and details: http://www.redpanicbutton.com

By: Justin dating Demi

Justin dating Demi — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 06:22:21 +0000

Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an really long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Regardless, just wanted to say superb blog!

By: Gary Allen

Gary Allen — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 21:43:13 +0000

Thanks for your feedback on the development of the app. The limitations I mentioned in the story are mainly the result of the way the Internet has been constructed, not the app itself. There is an inherent unreliability in communicating via the Internet that doesn’t usually affect day-to-day communications. In this case, if a Silent Bodyguard user relies upon the app for help when it’s activated, they may not consider other strategies or actions to get themselves out of danger. And if their distress message doesn’t go through (or the emergency contact doesn’t read their e-mail very often), they could be put into even more peril than if they considered other actions. Reliance on the app and the Internet may not be well-placed in critical situations.

By: Jo Perry

Jo Perry — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 14:58:15 +0000

I am one of the developers of Silent Bodyguard and wanted to clarify a few things for your readers:
The SMS and email are sent via a service outside the user’s phone so that the alarm will be silent and automatic. A key feature that we built into Silent Bodyguard is that it is a silent and secret panic button–the home screen looks like a photo viewing screen so that the user can open the application and trigger it without anyone knowing–this means an nosy onlooker, a date who is drunk and getting unruly or an attacker or abductor.
We designed the app this way because of some tragic events that inspired the development of the app in the first place: a classmate of my youngest daughter was abducted and murdered while on an errand. Her abductor forced her to drive to a series of ATMs and when she couldn’t withdraw cash, allowed her to phone her parents–but she was unable to let them know she was in danger.
Silent Bodyguard’s emergency emails with updated GPS location go out every 60 seconds–until the app is deactivated. So the whereabouts of the user is refined and tracked through time and space–silently and secretly.
We cannot have the messages go directly to the police–yet. London, England is one of the few cities in the world whose police department accepts text and emails–but we hope US police will be able to receive these. In the meantime, a concerned friend or family member who has been selected to receive the SOS can alert the proper authorities or take action to help a friend or loved one in trouble.
Thank you.