BIG STORY
Digital Transformation Series
Developers of the new iWitness smartphone app have said they are putting personal safety in “your hand by turning a smartphone into a personal safety device, giving the person an option that cannot be turned against them in the case of an incident.”
By capturing and safeguarding video and audio evidence, iWitness gives perpetrators one choice – run away before the situation escalates, says the company that was early pioneers in the E911 space.
The US company says the personal safety app for iOS and Android mobile devices aims to prevent attacks and safeguarding evidence of any incident, in a world where violence and crime are global issues that affect individuals of every age, gender, race and socioeconomic status.
iWitness app gives people a way to protect themselves using their smartphones.
Here’s how iWitness works. Once downloaded on a smartphone, the user simply touches ‘record’ any time they’re walking alone, are in an uncertain situation, or feel uncomfortable.
The service broadcasts audio/video clips and automatically uploads the data to a secure cloud server. The video does not stay on the phone, so there’s nothing any attacker can do to erase it.
“iWitness allows both travelers and locals to select their region and then it automatically localizes to the emergency resource equivalent of 911. Currently, the app has over 146 countries included in the application”, according to the app makers.
“Business and leisure travelers love the application and asked us to add this international feature so they can have the same feeling of security on the road as they do at home,” says Dave Remer, Founder and CEO of iWitness. “As a road warrior myself, I have often been alone in unfamiliar areas and wished for an extra layer of protection in case I were to run into trouble. iWitness provides a ‘virtual witness’ in any situation and helps avoid the endless debate about what actually happened. Consumers tell us that using the mobile app gives them peace of mind. Police tell us it may also act as a deterrent to an attack.”
iWitness is the mobile-social startup that is leading the development of the cloud-based personal safety space. Competitors such as EmergenSee exist, but they come at a significantly higher price than iWitness while offering fewer vital features, the company claims.
