Google recently released an Android app called Trusted Contacts, which essentially works as a personal security app. The app – currently not available for iOS devices – lets you curate a list of trusted persons to whom your location can be sent during an emergency.
The service itself is very similar to a lot of other personal security apps on the Android Play Store from Google, but the company has introduced some features that you won’t see on many of the other apps.
For example, your trusted contacts will be able to see if your phone’s battery is dead. They can also see if you’re in a bad signal reception area.
The app works by first asking you to fill out a list of emergency contacts from your phone’s contacts list – as many as 50 people, although most of us won’t find the need to include our extended family, the neighborhood grocer or the cat.
Once you set it up, your trusted contacts will need to download the app as well, where they will be able to see if your phone is getting reception, whether you’re on the move and so on.
One difference between this and other, similar apps is that your trusted contacts can also ping you in case they want to check in.
For example, if there’s been a natural disaster and your family is checking to see if you’re okay, they can ping you from their phone’s app. You have the choice to deny or allow a response with your location, but if you don’t pick either option, after five minutes the app will send your location details. If your phone’s battery dies out in the meantime or you enter a bad reception area, it will send them your last known location.
You can change the Trusted Contacts status of anyone on your list, and you will receive an email notification confirming the change. It’s a fairly simple interface, but this is definitely one of the most unique personal security apps we’ve seen in a long time, even though there are much better ones on Google Play, such as SOS, OnGuard, EmergenSee and so on.
However, because this is directly from Google, it’s safe to assume that the app will be able to leverage Google Maps and other applications in a much better manner, and eventually get more robust functionality to help it better compete with top personal security apps.
ALSO SEE: Top 5 Self-Defense iPhone Apps for Personal Security
David Tattersall, a Google product manager, says this:
“This thing really can be a powerful sensor to make sure you’re okay. We’re actually going to help some people, and potentially save some lives.”
The company hasn’t given a release date for an iOS version of this personal security app, but we do know that they’re working on it.
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