Personal Protection (Emergency Alerts)
This is about apps to fire an alarm in emergency situations – when there's usually not enough time for complex actions (like making a call or writing a text), and every second counts. So possible actions (which are mostly used by below apps) could include:
- shake the device
- plug-out the headset cable
- have a "dead-man switch" (auto-alert if not pressed all xx minutes)
Possible actions, also found in some of the apps:
- make a loud noise to draw attention
- send an SMS/Mail/… to selected contacts (maybe including position data)
- make a call to a selected contact (maybe while activating a "beacon" to be locatable, a la Glympse)
Dead-Man-Switch
2025-05-17
A Dead man switch fires automatically when you do not take action – so activation works just the opposite way of a panic button.
- Noonlight: Feel Protected 24/7 (4.4@4,596) Ǥ 17
4
- Kinetic Global (4.4@636) Ǥ 36
7
- Dead Man’s Switch (4.4@330) 13
triggers alert when not being moved for a given intervall; SMS, sound, call
- Keep Alive (0@0) 17
Github; notify others if you haven't used your device in a given period of time
Panic mode activators
2025-05-17
- Bull Horns Panic Button (4.3@762) Ǥ 24
7
LastUpdate: 2020-04-30 activate from earphone buttons or Wear device
- Shake2Safety - Personal Safety (4.2@607) 10
LastUpdate: 2020-01-10 emergency call or SMS w/ location by shaking the phone / press power button 4 times
Panic-Button
2025-05-18
- iOkay - Personal Safety (5@338) Ǥ 39
4
- SOSFem - Botón de pánico/SOS (4.6@4,226) Ǥ 19
15
- SoSecure by ADT: Safety App (4.3@3,574) Ǥ 18
8
- SOS EU ALP (4.2@448) 9
2 Notfallknopf für Bergwanderer; send position for rescue
- Alerty Personal alarm (3.6@21) Ǥ 25
4
can also be triggered by the Pebble companion
- SABRE Personal Safety (3@46) Ǥ 35
6
- Red Panic Button (2.5@995) Ǥ 23
2
SMS/mail/Facebook/Twitter w/ location
Other Emergency Alerts
2025-05-08
- WayGuard - Lass dich begleiten (4.6@1,972) Ǥ 22
13
LastUpdate: 2022-09-05 Vorstellung 8/2019
- Covert Alert (4.5@53) Ǥ 16
7
- My Safetipin:Safety Companion (3@338) Ǥ 18
6
- bSafe - Never Walk Alone (2.9@8,953) Ǥ 34
7
Dead-man-switch, fake call, panic button & more
- LiveSafe (2.3@714) Ǥ 28
7
Background on how the app started: thumbs up, Kristina! But: Trackers?
- Igatha (0@0) Ǥ 16
Github; SOS Signaling & Recovery for emergencies when communication networks fail
- Duress (0@0) 2
Github; listen for a duress password on the lockscreen
Further Readings:
2025-05-18