How mobile apps are making cities safer for women

March 15, 2017 – How safe do you feel in the streets of Bogota, Jakarta or major cities in India such as Delhi and Chennai? That’s a question the Safetipin app has been asking users since it launched in 2013 following the highly publicized case of a young woman gang raped on a bus in Delhi. The app crowdsources information on how safe a city is based on nine parameters, including lighting availability, visibility and a person’s own feeling of safety. This data helps inform other users — women in particular — which areas in a city are safe for travel or walking, particularly at night, and which ones are best avoided. A new feature allows friends and family members to monitor one’s whereabouts.