Kitestring is an app on the market whose main goal is to make sure people get from point A to point B safely, and will notify their emergency contacts if they don't. To be fair, this isn't an ingenious, new idea. There are a couple of other apps like it out there. But, in my opinion, Kitestring is probably the best. Unlike bSafe or Nirbhaya, both of which both alert your emergency contacts if you're in trouble, Kitestring doesn't require you to touch anything (bSafe) or shake your phone (Nirbhaya) to let people know that you're possibly in danger. In order for Kitestring to work, you literally have to do nothing.

Here's how it works: You tell Kitestring that you're in a dangerous place or situation or just that you're heading out, and then you give it a time frame of when to check in on you (30 minutes, 2 hours, 5 hours, or 12 hours). If you don't reply back when it checks your status, it instantly alerts your emergency contacts with a custom message that you set up.

Kitestring.io
Kitestring.io
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You can also customize the message that it sends out to your emergency contacts (so it sounds more like you), and set check-in and duress codes for some added safety.

Kitestring.io
Kitestring.io
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What if you're running behind? No worries, you can just push back the check-in time if by texting it "10m" for ten more minutes. What if you get home early? You can turn it off completely by telling it "ok," once you've arrived at your destination.

Now, I'm calling this an "app" because that's basically what it is. But, in all actuality, it's a web-based service, so you can use it on any type of phone that has web browser: Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, etc., which is a feature many other apps lack. Everyone can have Kitestring, and everyone should. Hopefully, it will never have to be used because you area actually in distress, but it will be nice to know that there's something in place to alert people if you are.

This app is truly accessible to anyone with a smart phone, and I think that that is a big part of what makes it so great. It's perfect for everyone - women out alone at night, anyone who's meeting up with a stranger for the first time (Hello, internet dating), and college students could all benefit from the services Kitestring has to offer.

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