The Companion app. It's a new safety app that gives friends and family the opportunity to virtually walk you home at night. Companion allows users to send a request to friends and family to track their path home through GPS on an online map. It doesn't require those tracking to have the app, so it makes it easier for them to accompany the user virtually. They can contact however many people they want, and those contacted receive an SMS message with the hyperlink that leads them to the interactive map showing the user walking to their destination.
Now here's the really cool part. If the user strays off the path, starts running, has their headphones yanked out of their phone, or even gets pushed or falls, the Companion app detects the movements and asks the user to confirm that they're okay within 15 seconds. If they don't press the button to confirm they're safe, or if an actual emergency is occurring, the user's phone becomes a personal alarm system that emits a loud noise in order to scare the criminals from the scene and gives the option for the user to instantly call the police. If the police are called, a notification is sent to the family member or friend who was tracking you.
It's exactly what the college universe needs. Now, I'm sure that just like my university, there are panic stations located around every 20 feet on the campus sidewalks, but there's something about a friend knowing that you're walking home and knowing exactly where you are in case something happens. There are also other opportunities on campus, such like the Safe Team at USF, but some of those systems make you wait 30 minutes for a ride home, and some don't go off campus. And for people who don't like being on the phone for the 20 minutes it takes to walk home, this app helps them feel safe with a friend or family member keeping watch while not requiring them to awkwardly hold their phone to their ear the entire way.
As a university student who lives off campus, sometimes it feels unsafe for me to walk home late at night, and that just a reality that we have to face. Luckily, this app is going to help change that, one user at a time.
