If you're concerned about your personal safety now the darker nights are here, this app that turns your phone into a personal safety device could help give you peace of mind. The Hollie Guard App has features which can raise the alarm if you're worried and let your chosen contacts know you need help.
Set up in 2015, the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Comissioner Marc Jones recently commissioned the University of Lincoln to create the above video which shows how the app works. With a quick shake, a person concerned about their safety could let their friends or family know they are in trouble.
There are two settings within the app. It can be used as a deterrent, which makes it clear to anyone in your surrounding area that an alert has been raised - the mobile screen turns red while capturing the user’s GPS location and records any video and audio footage.
The other setting is stealth, which allows you to raise an alarm while making it less obvious to those around you. It will carry out the same procedure and can be activated by shaking the phone - however, in Stealth mode there is a fake temporary home screen to make it less obvious that an alert has been raised.
Activating an alert is really easy, too. Users can either shake their phone or tap the icon title button.
Your current location and the route from the time of the activation will be sent to your emergency contacts. Your phone will then automatically begin recording voice and audio which is saved in the Hollie Guard server.
From this moment onwards, your location is tracked and viewed in real-time by your emergency contacts. The Hollie Guard app was developed after 20-year-old Hollie Gazzard was stabbed to death in the salon she worked at in Gloucester by her ex-partner.
Hollie had recently separated from them because of the domestic abuse, violence and stalking she was experiencing. Following her murder, Hollie’s parents set up the Hollie Gazzard Trust to help reduce domestic violence through making programmes, spreading awareness, and promoting healthy relationships in schools and colleges.
The charity also funds hairdressing training for young people who may not have the funds to study, as a tribute to Hollie’s passion.
The app has four features to allow users to travel with confidence. The Journey feature helps the user to travel safely by telling your emergency contacts where you are going and allows you to save journey points.
The Meeting Alarm helps the user to stay safe in situations with a risk factor - such as meeting an estranged partner, going on a blind date, or working alone. It works in lock screen mode, allowing you to select a time for the meeting and sending a pre-warning before the alert is sent out to allow you to add more time or to cancel the alert.
Man Down works best for those who want security when performing dangerous tasks such as working from heights or being out for a run alone and can be used alongside the other features. It automatically detects if you have had a sudden fall or if you have been motionless for a long period of time, which in turn sends an alert.
Reports allows you to report crimes such as harassment, stalking or domestic abuse. The user can upload photo evidence that is automatically categorised, time-stamped, and geo-tagged and is saved into the Hollie Guard server and be used as evidence if required.
