New app would turn your iPhone into an iWitness
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SEATTLE -- A Seattle company claims it has developed a new app that can turn your iPhone into a virtual witness and deter would-be criminals. If activated, your phone would record video and audio of your surroundings, and even call 911 if you feel too unsafe.
It's a safety feature specifically designed with women, children and the elderly in mind.
"As I'm feeling threatened, or I'm in a place I don't feel comfortable, I arm iWitness," said Dave Remer, iWitness founder. "It starts recording my environment, and starts sending every 3 seconds clips to a safe place."
It's relaying images and sounds that might later be used to catch a culprit. A blinking light first alerts you and others possibly up to no good that the phone is "armed." Another touch starts transmitting audio and video to a computer server in the cloud, that law enforcement can access if they ever need to.
"All the video that is recorded by the individual does not live on the phone," said Greg Heuss, iWitness CEO. "It goes up to a secure server, and on that secure server, even when they go to the website to see the events they just recorded, they cannot grab that, they can't copy it, they can't send it off to friends. The only people who have access are the authorities when we grant them that access."
If the situation gets even more threatening, another touch will automatically call 911, sound an alarm, and send a text message to family and friends that something's potentially wrong.
"If there's a struggle for the phone, we touch the screen in any way, it's going to call the police automatically," Heuss said. "If the phone is knocked out of my hand or its dropped, it calls the police automatically."
The user's GPS coordinates are also recorded. iWitness just went active last week. It costs $30 a year for a subscription.
iWitness says its new app will be available for Android devices by the end of the year.
iWitness app on iTunes
It's a safety feature specifically designed with women, children and the elderly in mind.
"As I'm feeling threatened, or I'm in a place I don't feel comfortable, I arm iWitness," said Dave Remer, iWitness founder. "It starts recording my environment, and starts sending every 3 seconds clips to a safe place."
It's relaying images and sounds that might later be used to catch a culprit. A blinking light first alerts you and others possibly up to no good that the phone is "armed." Another touch starts transmitting audio and video to a computer server in the cloud, that law enforcement can access if they ever need to.
"All the video that is recorded by the individual does not live on the phone," said Greg Heuss, iWitness CEO. "It goes up to a secure server, and on that secure server, even when they go to the website to see the events they just recorded, they cannot grab that, they can't copy it, they can't send it off to friends. The only people who have access are the authorities when we grant them that access."
If the situation gets even more threatening, another touch will automatically call 911, sound an alarm, and send a text message to family and friends that something's potentially wrong.
"If there's a struggle for the phone, we touch the screen in any way, it's going to call the police automatically," Heuss said. "If the phone is knocked out of my hand or its dropped, it calls the police automatically."
The user's GPS coordinates are also recorded. iWitness just went active last week. It costs $30 a year for a subscription.
iWitness says its new app will be available for Android devices by the end of the year.
iWitness app on iTunes
