Virtual Walk Home

With safety of our loved ones being a big concern in this day and age, a new app has been released that virtually allows you to walk a friend home whenever you wish to. This is done without even having to leave your house. Imagine being able to remotely accompany your loved one on their way home or even if they leave on a distant journey.

 

Thanks to the new app called Companion, friends are able to “walk” friends home by following their GPS coordinates on a map which is displayed on their mobile device. The app runs through the phones built-in sensors which detects any form of movement. An example of such would be if the walker stops moving or pulls out his or hers headphones, the app sends a notification to alert the companion.

 

For extra added safety, the app also has a feature that allows companions to contact the police should the walker not confirm that they are okay within 15 seconds of the change in movement. The app will also send out an alert on the walker’s phone which sounds of alarm-like noises on the phone and also displays a button for the walker to contact the police from their phone.

 

The app connects walkers to companions when the walker texts a link to the person among his contact list that he’s chosen to walk him home virtually. Walkers can also select to send an “I feel nervous” alert to a companion on their list, prompting the companion to follow a route remotely.

 

The app, which was launched to the public just two weeks ago, already has more than 500,000 new users. The app’s founders plan to roll out more features in the future, including touch-ID technology so that only the walker could hit the “I’m OK” button.

 

The app has the potential to bring an extra layer of safety to pedestrians in cities and campuses around the world.