Apps to help you stay safe on a night out

Whilst I have always felt safe in Lincoln, the city is a lot bigger than my hometown so even though I always arrived home safely and wasn’t in danger – walking home alone, or sometimes in a group could be unnerving.

Despite everyone’s right to feel safe, some people (including myself) like to take extra precautions to lessen the risk when walking home. Here are a few suggestions of some apps you could make use of to feel more safe if you are worried:

WalkSafe

Walksafe is a personal safety app which ensures your walk home avoids any hotspots for crime, therefore you could make a more informed choice when choosing your route home. This could be particularly useful for those who live off campus and are walking home alone.

The app includes a feature which allows you to check in with your friends and alert them to your location if you report feeling unsafe.

The app also allows you to set an estimated time of arrival when you set off and will alert your emergency contact of your location if you do not get back in time.

Shake2Safety

This app is programmed to send an emergency message to a contact of your choice and audio and video record if you shake your phone or press the power button four times.

This could be useful in providing you with added peace of mind as you have the safety net of your emergency contact always knowing your location in an emergency if you trigger the safety features.

Life360

Life360 is a good app that allows you and your friends or family to create your own ‘circles’ of trusted contacts and check out their location.

The app also allows for real-time alerts to be received and sent when members of your circle leave or arrive at different locations.

Also of use, is the ‘Help Alert’ function which lets your circle know that you do not feel safe after 10 seconds.

Strut Safe

If you do not like apps and would prefer to talk to someone to feel safe, you could instead, or additionally to an app above, use the free UK phone line of Strut Safe.

The number is 0333 335 0026.

I have this number in my phone and although I have never called it, it has always given me peace of mind that I could call here if one of my friends or housemates is unavailable.

The phone line is open 7pm-3am on Fridays and Saturdays, and 7pm-1am on Sundays.