App Safety Centre

Personal safety apps and devices can be a resource for survivor experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault. These apps and tools can help support a survivor in many ways, including learning more about domestic violence or sexual assault; alert others if she feels unsafe; and even document abuse for evidence.

This page includes information for survivors, practitioners, and app developers. We will continue to add more resources to this page as we develop them.

For Personal Safety App Users and Frontline Workers

2020 Review of Australian Personal Safety Apps

CLICK HERE to read about each of the apps we reviewed.

Emergency ‘Call for Help’ Personal Safety Apps

‘Call for Help’ personal safety apps generally fall into two categories: (1) services that notify a select group of individuals that you have an emergency, and (2) services that notify emergency responders that you need help. This three-part series explain what each of these types of apps/services do, the benefits and limitations of ‘Call for Help’ safety apps, and what to think about before using a ‘Call for Help’ safety app as part of your safety plan.

‘Documentation’ Personal Safety Apps

‘Documentation’ personal safety apps enable women experiencing family violence to track details of abusive behaviour by uploading content that may include photos, videos, audio and diary entries to create a record of what has happened, when it happened, and how it made them feel.

‘Information Only’ Personal Safety Apps

‘Information Only’ personal safety apps connect survivors with educational information, support resources, and a way to contact police or other trusted contacts if in an unsafe situation.

Learn More About How to Choose a Personal Safety App

Using a Safety App: Considerations for Survivors of Abuse

For App Developers

“So, you wanna build an app?”

This “So, You Wanna Build an App” series was written by our sister project, the U.S. Safety Net Project at the National Network to End Domestic Violence. This series is based on lessons learned when developing the NNEDV Tech Safety App, and in reviewing dozens of apps created for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.