A corporate security app that provides crucial travel safety information for employees worldwide is being made available to private individuals in the UK for the first time.
The Safeture consumer app makes business trips as well as personal holidays abroad just that bit less of a worry by providing real-time local safety information 24/7. This includes health alerts, severe weather warnings, local emergencies, civil unrest and terror attacks.
The free app, the first of its kind, draws on information from thousands of sources all around the world, including foreign offices, government agencies, aid organisations and key data providers like meteorological agencies and seismological institutes.
It offers business travelers and holiday makers insights into what’s happening locally anywhere around the world. It also provides a one-click connection to local emergency response teams in the event of a potentially dangerous situation arising. And, users can choose to share their location with family, friends and work colleagues so they know your whereabouts at any given time.
Safeture is being launched in the UK at a time when people are increasingly more adventurous in their choice of travel destinations and more businesses choose to trade in higher risk areas as part of a globalization growth strategy. At the same time, global risk levels over the next ten years – covering incidents including international conflicts, extreme weather events and terrorist attacks – are expected to be at their highest state of alert, according to a World Economic Forum report.
Information provided in Safeture:
- Local emergencies requiring evacuation or immediate action
- National emergencies
- Tsunami warnings and flash floods
- Extreme weather events and natural disasters
- Demonstrations and civil unrest
- Airport and Traffic disturbances
How Safeture works:
- Local news wherever you are: Automatically tracking user’s location and providing real-time SMS-alerts about local incidents
- Direct Push Notifications: Giving timely warnings against threats at or near the user’s location
- Country safety and travel information: Ensures advice is at hand at every location
- Share your position: Incorporating a safe journey function that lets users share their position with relatives and friends, and invite them to track their path and make sure they arrive safely
- Walk me home: Users can alert friends and family and give them a real-time trail of their movements.
- Automatic Translation: Messages and regional information text can be translated in 90 different languages
- Additional Emergency Information: Providing accurate and updated security information and local emergency phone numbers
The app was created by Global Warning System, which counts ERV, one of the largest providers of private and business travel insurance, and UK-based security firm G4S as partners and corporate users of its travel safety solutions.
“Personal safety depends on having quick access to accurate information about local incidents,†says Andreas Rodman, CEO of Global Warning System. “Everyone should have the right to access information that will keep them safe. Most people today carry a smartphone and Safeture was created to give people fast access to life-saving information, something that we saw an especially clear need for during tragic events such as the SARS epidemic or the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.â€Â
The app is free to download from iTunes and Google Play with an initial trial period until September.
