Mobile app to help women in distress send quick SOS alerts

Women in the country can now look forward to alerting their friends and family through the push of a button on sensing danger using a mobile application called 'Fight Back'.

Developed by mobile value added services provider CanvasM, the application tracks a user's location and sends SOS messages to selected contacts in case of an emergency.

"We feel the application can help make a woman feel safe, especially given the current law and order situation.

The app allows them to press panic button whenever they feel unsafe. It tracks the location using GPS and alerts the right people," CanvasM CEO Jagdish Mitra told PTI.

The company is also in the process of integrating the solution with Delhi Police's back-end IT infrastructure.

"This will enable Delhi Police to also get messages when somebody calls out for help and prompt action can be taken," he added.

There has been an outrage in the country over alleged rape of a paramedical student by six men in a moving bus.

While the application is free for consumers in the Delhi-NCR region, other users will need to pay a subscription fee of Rs. 100 per annum.

"Such incidents are shameful. The application is our way of contributing to make women feel safe," Mitra said. Fight Back is available for smartphones running on Android, Blackberry and Symbian operating systems, he said.

"We will soon come up with a similar SMS-based application so that the benefits can be extended to non-smartphone users as well," he added.

While the application has been available for sometime now, it has seen about 3,000-4,000 downloads.

"The pick up is there but not as much as we had expected. We have been busy with building the ecosystem. We will now work on spreading awareness about the application," he said.

To spread awareness about Fight Back, the company is talking to various companies, including BPOs, and colleges. In addition, they are looking at tie-up with telecom operators and NGOs to promote the service.

"We are in talks with Delhi government as well," he said.