2 years after the horrific Delhi gangrape, safety apps for women come as boon

After the horrific December 16, 2012 gangrape of a paramedical student by six men in a moving bus in Delhi, many mobile phone companies and private groups launched safety apps for women. All such apps claim to have several features which can prove to be very useful if a person is in distress and needs help immediately.

Smart cloud Infotech company launched an app called 'Nirbhaya: Be Fearless' in January 2013 and it to the brave girl 23-year-old paramedic student who was brutally raped and assaulted in Delhi. She was called "Nirbhaya" (fearless) for putting up a brave fight.

Nirbhaya: Be Fearless is an android emergency application which can send a distress call or emergency message to a specified contact or group in an emergency situation a woman or any other individual. The correct location, information and communication with and from the app is dependent upon the basic hardware/software requirements, like - Active Data plan, SMS plan, minimum talk time and active GPS functionality.

SmartCloud Infotech Product Manager Swati Tanwar said, "It can easily be used as a safety utility that will help create a safe heaven for women in the cities and countries where they live."

"It can be used in case of attempted molestation, accident, family emergency, etc. through pre-defined text messages," Tanwar added.

The app rapidly gained popularity with almost 19000 downloads. The company added some new features like Geo fence and Stamp through which a user will be able to mark her current location or any other location on the map as safe or unsafe in in update released in 2014.

Varnika Gupta, a 22-year-old Delhi University student, uses 'Safetipin', a mobile phone app developed by Active Solutions Pvt Ltd which was launched in November 2013.

"I have been using this app since six months now and I must say it's really very helpful. In fact I have recommended all my friends to download this app. In the wake of the gruesome rape, such apps are a boon to us," Gupta said.

Safetipin is a map-based online and mobile phone application that works to make our cities safer by providing safety-related information.

Kalpana Viswanath from Safetipin said, "As women have been known to carry safety pins for their protection, this app also plays the same role."

The owners are now planning to add a new feature in the app called as safest route for people to use.

Rachna Chaudhary, a 25-year-old working professional uses Vith U, a mobile application conceptualised by Channel V in November 2013.

The mobile app is activated by tapping the power button, which immediately sends alert messages to all the contacts.

"It's a very good initiative taken by the channel. I really like the features of this app and I even recommended it on Facebook. It is the need of the hour to protect women in every possible way," Chaudhary said.

These safety apps are just one of many developments that have taken place to ensure safety of women following the gruesome gangrape of "Nirbhaya", which led to massive protests and heated discussions in the country. It even forced the government into enacting a stringent anti-rape law.