Guest Blog – Jesse Harwell is today’s guest author.  We know you will enjoy reading about ways to stay safe, and can benefit from this safety advise.  With these types of safety apps, how much “smarter” can our cell phones get?

Top 10 Safety Apps

There are a number of smartphone apps on the market designed to keep you and your family safe in emergency situations. They cover everything from safe driving and emergency alerts to first aid instructions. Here are the top ten safety apps.

1. Life 360 – Android (Free)

This app is the perfect tool for families in an emergency situation. It has a number of features vital in any disaster situation, such as GPS tracking on family members’ phones, disaster planning tips, communication tools, neighborhood maps of safety points.

2. MyMotolingo – Windows phones ($5/month)

This app is good for parents of teen drivers or spouses of drivers with road rage. It monitors all driver distractions, such as text messages and phone calls, and provides a report of phone activity. It also logs aggressive acceleration, speeding, trip length, and time that can be provided in email reports or tweets. Make sure your loved ones are keeping themselves safe on the road.

3. Playsafe – iPhone ($0.99)

Another factor that distracts drivers is playing and changing music on a mobile device. It makes the iPhone screen into a large button to play and pause music. A simple sideways swipe on the screen changes the track.

4. Silent Bodyguard – iPhone ($3.99)

This app acts like a silent panic button. Press it and the system will send e-mails, texts and social media messages with your location every 60 seconds to everyone on your emergency contact list. Best of all, it’s silent in case you’re in a situation when you wouldn’t want your attacker to know you’ve called for help.

5. Safety NET – Android ($3.99)

If you have loved ones who have medical issues, you might want to have them install this app. It uses a smartphone’s built-in accelerometer to monitor for falls, collisions, or shakes and immediately alerts all the contacts listed in the user’s “Safety Net.” If you accidentally drop your phone or don’t need help, you are also given 15 seconds to cancel the alert.

6. Pocket First Aid & CPR – iPhone, Android ($1.99) 

This app comes from the American Heart Association and provides basic instructions for performing first aid and CPR for adults, children, and infants. This should not be a substitute for complete first aid and CPR training, but it could save a life in an emergency. It also has several videos and illustrations to help you perform first aid and CPR correctly.

7. Emergency Radio – iPhone ($1.99) 

If you’re in an emergency situation without access to power, this app allows you to listen in on radio frequencies from first responders, such as the police, fire department, coast guard, as well as weather stations and air traffic control frequencies. It is currently available for major cities in the U.S., as well as a few around the world like London, Toronto, and Sydney.

8. ICE – iPhone ($0.99)

ICE stands for In Case of Emergency. This app allows first responders and emergency personnel to find your emergency contacts, medical information, and allergies all in one place.

9. Help Me! –Android (Free)

This app provides personal information such as blood type, medical conditions, allergies, and an emergency call button. When the app is open, the screensaver is disabled so that anyone helping you can see the information at all times.

10. Personal Safety – Android ($1.99)

This app provides lots of information to keep you and your family safe. It alerts you of high-crime neighborhoods, severe weather, allergens, air quality, and speed limits wherever you are.

Jesse Harwell is a former private investigator who now owns and manages the site  Master of Homeland Security. It is a resource for students looking to earn a Master’s Degree in Homeland Security.

Wow!  What great information, thank you so much, Jesse!  This is good advice to assist everyone, as we never know when an emergency will happen.  Please pass this on to your family and friends.  Go to Jesse’s website for more ways to stay safe!