Companion App Makes Night Walking Alone Safer

Walking anywhere alone, especially at night, can be an unsettling experience for women. But the Companion app, developed by college students Danny Freed, Jake Wayne, Lexie Ernst, and Katie Reiner, offers a solution to the lack of safety women often feel walking home alone at night. The app's functions allow the user to share his or her route with friends and family who can then virtually monitor their walk every step of the way to their destination.

The user simply requests a friend or family member (or both) to be a companion for the walk. Even without the app, the companion can participate since it allows them to track the live walk on any map app. The app can detect if there are strange signs, like change in pace or going off-track, and it gives the user 15-seconds to confirm that things are okay before it alerts the companion and emits a loud alarm. There is also also a quick tap button to call the police.

While this option is obviously applicable only to those with smart phones, it's developments like these that will hopefully continue to increase the dialogue surrounding women's safety.