Similar Apps

As far as I am aware, I have come across one app that has had a similar idea to my own called Emergency. I found this app whilst browsing YouTube. Here is the link to the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTF9J33RU6Q 

This app allows you to set up an emergency number that you can set and settings as to how you can set up the alarm (Press the lock button 4 times) etc.

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However his app does not have a direct line to the authorities. His app alerts contacts on his phone and this is a bad idea as people read different messages at different times. For example, you  may need to use this emergency app whilst on a night out and one of the emergency contacts is asleep. They will not get the message until when they wake up and they may still call 999 and report the crime again. This would be a waste of time and resources. My app bypasses having to rely on others, and is a direct line to the police.

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One of the ways that he let users activate the alarm is by having the panic button on the lock screen which you can press when the phone is still locked. This is a bad idea because a user could have a phone in their pocket and accidentally activate the alarm.

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I think the lock-screen is a good idea to casually set off an alarm, but it can be better disguised. I propose having two passwords to unlock the phone. One unlocks the phone without setting the alarm off and the other password will set off the alarm without anyone noticing.

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SOS feature on the Apple Watch has a similar function on their device. If the user holds down the side button, they have to wait until an alarm starts ti sound which will automatically contact the emergency services; or they can swipe the “Emergency SOS Slider” and after the call ends, it will send a text to your emergency contacts with your current location. They can do this by editing their emergency contacts on their iPhone in a separate menu. But this is pointless. A user shouldn’t have to log in to another device to be able to use one function when they can have it in one device or the other (in my case the phone.)

Also this product does not protect the user beyond just calling for help, my app records audio and video of the events which can be used in case the user becomes the victim of a crime or if the user is witnessing a crime.

 

Another feature I will add to the app which the competitors haven’t done is the promotion of local community and police campaigns. I have seen on their website they advertise their police campaigns, but people hardly visit their local police stations website. I want to move that material from their website into this app.

I also want my app to have statistics of where calls were made from and where the alarm was set off so that civilians know where to avoid danger depending how many times the alarm was used in a general area. We want the user to be able to back and look at statistics from months ago and to see where and how crime has developed in their general area. All users who set off the app will remain anonymous.

Research – Data Encryption

One ethical quandary my project has is that if this app was state commissioned and for the purpose of assisting the state in apprehending criminals and protecting citizens, then they would arguably have access to all users data that downloads the app.

So to protect users privacy, their data will be encrypted into the app users. Users will have access to a special key that will be kept private. All texts, calls, videos and photos will be protected.

When the alarm is triggered, their GPS location, microphone and cameras will be activated to be used as evidence in case there is a conviction and these files will be stored via a cloud system. However, some crimes may be carried out and there would be no signal to transfer the data into the cloud, so as a backup, the video and audio files will be saved into the users phone or memory card. If the user becomes missing and the phone is recovered, a separate program will be used to only obtain data that the app has recorded and keep their other data private and intact. This would be made possible by allowing the app to take and store data under the users command and to be accessed via a separate program that the operators will have access too and if the physical phone has to be retrieved to extract the data, the operator will plug the phone into the computer where a separate program will  extract the data that has been recorded only through the app. 

The process of cryptography is the following:

Data  is encrypted with an algorithm and an encryption key and this creates “ciphertext” which can only be decrypted with the encryption key. Then you can access the data.

To simplify encryption, we will use the earliest example of encryption which dates back to the Roman era called ‘The Caesar Cipher” and what this meant was that certain letters of the alphabet meant something completely different and you would not be able to solve the cipher without the key so for example: A = B or C = F. You are scrambling the data so that only those with the key can access unlock it with their own encryption key. The data is unreadable without a key.

Encryption is safe and secure for the most part, but that does not mean that is 100% fullproof. One method to unlocking encryption is by trying random keys until the right key is found. This can be further protected by increasing the size of a key, but the larger the size of the key, the more resources are required to process the key.

Another method of hacking encryption is by going after the source of the cipher; exploiting weaknesses and faults in their systems.

 

Week 1 – Development

My app idea is a silent alarm for a smartphone for situations when the user may be in danger. I want many ways a user can access alarms if their first way of accessing it has been exhausted. (A separate passcode to log in to your phone that also sets off the phone alarm or mashing the lock button multiple times.)

A feature will also be added that will allow the user to set a timer if they believe that they are not in immediate danger. They can set the alarm for up to 0-10 minutes and once the timer has run out, a notification will pop up to the user giving them the option to

A. Activate the alarm

B. Cancel the alarm

C. Continue the timer for longer if they believe they are still in danger.

If they do not answer the notification, the alarm will trigger.

When the alarm is triggered, your GPS will be tracked by an operator at the local police department and nearby users of the app will be alerted at the presence of danger. Both audio and video will also be recorded that will be used in evidence if any charges are filed.

I want to develop this product because I believe that it could have the potential to save people from trauma and will provide quick response to people in need.  It will also be handy for situations in which there is no surveillance.

However I realise that there are concerns surrounding this app by means of government surveillance. So there will be data encryption that will protect the users data and will only access the GPS, video and audio at the users request. If the person is missing, then an AI will determine via sources such as official police documents whether or not to release the persons last tracked GPS.

Inside the app will also have information pages that offer advice on how to act in certain situations and also raise awareness for local police campaigns.

App will also feature an interactive map that provides statistics on crime and it shows where alarms have been triggered. It will also use other police data from phone calls and other police reports within that can scale back from up to 10 years if the user wishes to see.