Earlier today my mom called to tell me about a couple of alarming things on the news. In one story, a man was attacked by 2 pit bulls while jogging through the park. The same park where I used to play as a kid. In another report, a young lady was brutally attacked by a group of guys outside of a party. Both of these are sad stories. And maybe, just maybe at least one of these incidents could have been prevented had the victim been with a friend, or on a phone call at the time. The dogs would not have cared one bit. But the guys that attacked the young lady most likely would have thought twice about it had she appeared to be calling for help. Sometimes we all have a need to walk to our cars or elsewhere alone at times that we might not feel so safe. On the rare occasion that this happens to me, I try to stay on the phone the whole time.
A while ago I reviewed Bipper Kids which can help you keep tabs on your kids and teens by monitoring their smartphone usage. And now, we will take a look at Bipper bSafe. Bipper bSafe takes just having a phone in your pocket one step beyond. The app’s motto is “Never Walk Alone”. bSafe provides a one touch SOS button to call or text your guardians if you feel threatened. It uses a combination of your phones basic functions to alert contacts that you might need help. Guardians can be anyone in your phone book. You could choose your parents, your husband, or your cousin the cop who you know is always out patrolling the neighborhood.
Hitting the SOS button triggers that alarm that goes off in 3 seconds. If you change your mind, you can cancel the alarm before it sends the alert.
The text is sent with a link to your exact GPS location which the receiver can pull up via Google Maps. In addition, when the SOS goes out it calls one guardian that you designate in the settings. When you first select the person as a guardian, they receive a text that reads: “I’m using the bSafe safety alarm, and have chosen you as my Guardian. Get bSafe too, it’s FREE! http://m.bipper.com/bsafe?vga&n=(phone number)“. Now they are aware that they should be on the lookout for your texts and calls. If an alert is sent, they receive a text that says “SOS! I have triggered my bSafe alarm and need help now. My location at 7:17pm is http://maps.google.com/(link to location).”
The below video shows just how easy it is to use.
One improvement that I would love to see is the ability to pull up the exact address of your own location in the app. It displays a dot on the map, however clicking on it does not bring up the address box like it does in the Google maps app. However, this does work correctly for the person that receives the SOS text.
Of course if you are truly in danger you should dial 911 before activating bSafe. But, if you want to feel a little more secure, you can download the FREE Bipper bSafe app for your iPhone, Android phone, or BlackBerry. Check the app store from your device, or send a text to 84145 to receive a download link. You can also visit Bipper.com for more information and to send a download link to your device.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Bipper bSafe. Although sponsored, all opinions are my own.
Hi Kris,
Thank you for sharing this article on Ganz Parent Club! We’re excited about the innovation of mobile devices, especially when it comes to safety, and the well-being of our children. You might also enjoy our article on the Amber GPS Alert gadget http://parentclub.ganzworld.com/tech-sense/the-amber-alert-gps-a-gadget-for-tracking-your-childs-location/
Again, thank you for sharing your article with our readers.