Paranoid Android: apps to stay safe

As much as the world today stresses on positive thinking and sending out ‘good vibrations’, sometimes it is essential to think about the possible worst case scenarios and try and be a little prepared. And there’s nothing like a real time emergency situation to shake things up and put it into perspective. Whether it's the recent Paris attacks that got you thinking or the floods in Chennai that had you stranded, or even the daily news that has caused a cloud of gloom to descend - here are a few apps that will help you stay prepared in case of emergency.

At the hint of a disaster, the first thing I usually do is let my mom know I’m okay - because the only thing worse than a natural disaster is a worried parent.

But what happens when there’s a larger circle of people you need to keep updated about your whereabouts, and vice versa? Thats where an app like Family Locator comes in handy. Create a circle with all your immediate family members and you can choose for them to track your movements - so no more “where are you” texts when you’re in a tough situation, because your family will know where you are. You can communicate with them through the app, and even use it to give directions.

Guardly is another popular emergency app that lets you create an alert system that works as soon as you activate the app. Just tap to launch the app and a timer is activated, and at the end of it an alert is sent to a select list of contacts. In addition, the app can also send real time alerts to local emergency services, and its location detection capabilities ensure that help arrives in a timely manner.

In Case of Emergency, or ICE, is an app that collates all the data you would need to have handyin a medical emergency, in the off chance that you are a victim and unable to provide the information yourself.

Details like blood group, allergies, and other important details that are essential in a medical emergency are available in a single convenient place. These small details can, quite often, make the difference between life and death, so keep it handy with an app like ICE.

The name is pretty descriptive of what the app does, but it is one of those basic apps that gets it right. Enter a phone number or email ID (or multiple ones) and every time you press that big red button, a distress signal will be sent out to them, along with your GPS location. The only catch is that the app works only if you’re in a place with signal. You can even add a widget to your home screen for easy access, in which case there are two buttons to press, to prevent from accidentally triggering it.

COMMENT NOW