Safety apps for women in the market; will they keep you safe?

In the wake of the recent gang rapes in Delhi (and elsewhere in the country), a lot of safety measures are suggested for women. There is always the good old pepper spray, but now technology has come to women's aid. Since smartphones abound almost everywhere, especially in urban locations, safety apps for women are getting popular.

From simple screaming alarms to holistic apps with e-mail alerts sent to your chosen contacts, there are hoards of safety apps available in Google Apps Marketplace. But surprisingly, download numbers for such apps are pretty low – in some cases one finds as few as 50 downloads. So it may need some awareness-building before they hit the popularity chart.

We have checked quite a few apps and listed the following three which are most convenient and easy to use.

bSafe: It allows you to send SOS texts and calls to your chosen set of contacts. The app also lets you receive 'fake' calls if you are in an unfavourable situation and need intervention. GPS location can also be shared with 'guardians' – people with whom you want to get in touch in case of an emergency. One can customise the numbers of the 'guardians' and can also adjust when the alarm should go off after you press the SOS button (it can be immediate or as per your preference).

What we think: Too lengthy a procedure and will only work if you are sure that someone is there to help you out. If you are attacked suddenly, it would be a little difficult to press the SOS button. Also, it sends SMS and calls to people whom you have chosen by sharing your location, but they may take some time to reach the spot. The location is also shared in a hyperlink format from Google Maps – yet another roadblock for people to track down the location. It doesn't alert the people in your immediate surroundings, which is most critical at that time. However, this app has been widely promoted on social media sites and it is also the most downloaded (50,000 on Android). But it may not of real help in times of emergency.

YWCA Safety Alert: This app has been designed by the Young Women's Christian Association and scores where bSafe lacks. It is literally a sound alarm and in addition to sending SMS, e-mail or calls to your desired contacts, it will also set off an alarm which will alert nearby people. The app has other features like calendar for creating to-do lists and setting reminders. It also offers a lot of women-centric content which is interesting to read.

What we think: This is a useful safety app because of its alarm feature. It also scores in terms of user interface, which is colourful and relaxing. Other additional features make it more than just a distress call utility. Still, there are very few takers, as of now (around 100 downloads on Android).

Scream Alarm: It is just what the name suggests. You press the scream button and a loud scream in a woman's voice starts. You have to push the button again to stop the screaming. This app offers no other features.

What we think: A very clean, to-the-point utility app. Although a combine of scream and texts sent to contacts works well, sometimes just a scream is what is needed to scare the offender.

Although safety apps can't guarantee anything, these might be able to catalyse some help for victims and in certain cases, may even prevent a crime from happening. Try them out yourself and let us know more about those you find useful.

(Edited by Sanghamitra Mandal)