A blog reader sent me info about SOS Link, in her words, “an awesome smart phone app to give us just a little more power over those who see our bodies as public property.”

What SOS Link does is allow you to immediately signal for help (to people you designate) if you’re in danger in public places and it allows you to report a crime (like street harassment). From their website:

“If you encounter an emergency or find yourself in a situation where you feel threatened, you can use your iPhone to send an immediate alert. Simply press the SOS LINK™ icon on your iPhone and point it towards the event or threat. Your iPhone will instantly begin to take photos, one per second, for 30 seconds. You have the choice to run the app with or without the SOS Alert and Siren playing.

The photos you take are sent wirelessly to our servers and are immediately relayed through a secure server to those who you have designated as ‘helpers.’ They get the photos, plus the time, date and your GPS location on a bing™ Map. Your helpers will typically start receiving your alerts within 15 seconds of you capturing the event.

You can also use SOS LINK™ to take photos of other events, such as a break-in or theft, that can be authenticated (time and date stamp; GPS location; secure storage) and used as evidence.

SOS LINK™ operates on iPhone™ and Blackberry™ Models and soon on other smartphone models.”

Awesome! If I had a smart phone (one of these days…) I’d definitely get this app. It’d make me feel safer going places alone, knowing I had a way to get help. And plus, it can be really useful when you see street harassment occurring or you are the victim of street harassment because then you can get evidence to use to show the crime.

In the coming months you can look out for another smart phone app being produced by HollaBack which will let you report street harassment via a GPS mapping system. The reports then will be included in a “State of our Streets” report for city officials to review so they can take necessary steps to end street harassment.

It’s  nice when we can use technology to our advantage so we can be safer and work to end street harassment!

(& thanks to the anonymous blog reader for the SOS Link tip)