If you worry about your loved ones when they’re out and about, the My First Alert app will help. The inventors explain how it works
What is the basic idea of My First Alert?
To make every journey feel safer by sending status updates throughout to your family and friends. We never expect for there to be any problems during a journey, My First Alert has been designed specifically to address this issue of letting people automatically know when something has gone wrong during a journey.
What SMS alerts can the app send?
The SMS alerts are one way messages providing details of your location at the time of the alert and destination details to you contacts. Alerts include;
• when you have started your journey;
• when you have not reached your destination by your ETA time;
• when you are deviating away form your destination;
• when you are stationary in your journey for 10 minutes
• a low battery alert;
• trigger an emergency alert;
• when you have reached your destination.
How many contacts can be set in the app?
You can select up to two contacts to receive your journey alerts via your mobile phone saved contact list.
Does the app allow for different types of transport?
Yes, there are four modes of transport that users can select, these are walking, cycling, by car/road, and by train.
Can parameters be updated during the journey?
No, parameters are defined at the start of each journey. A journey can be paused, or cancelled and restarted with updated parameters.
Is there an emergency alert function?
Yes, users are able to set a contact number to be used for the Emergency Call option during a journey. An alert is also sent to the selected contacts in the event of the emergency alert.
Where can I find the app? How much does it cost?
The app is available via App Store and Google Play and costs just £1 per year.
Do contacts need to download the app?
No, the great thing about My First Alert is that by using SMS, the contacts which have been selected to receive the alerts do not need to download the app in order to receive them.
What’s the story behind My First Alert?
My First Alert was independently funded and designed by Nimika Karadia in 2021. Having spent days watching the news of a tragic murder in London, UK, she thought that there must be a way to keep people informed during a journey and have a way to create a signal when you are in trouble. This led to the idea of My First Alert.
It was important for the app to be designed so that the user was in control of sharing journey status, versus an app that allows a user to be ‘live followed’, and for it to be priced so that it was accessible for absolutely everyone to use.
Where can I find out more about My First Alert?
You can visit the website www.myfirstalert.org and email support@myfirstalert.org
