Through crowdsourcing, the SafeUp app helps single travelers feel more comfortable all over the world.
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S.olo female travel was ascending in the past few years. In the background – and sometimes in the foreground – is the ongoing discourse about security. In the Facebook group Female travelers traveling alone, which has more than 130,000 members, security concerns are as widespread as selfies and referral requests. But as for so many things, there is also an app for that.
Tel Aviv entrepreneur founded Neta Schreiber in 2020 SafeUp, a free app that a crowdsourced community uses to alleviate some of the anxieties women face while traveling. Last year, the app expanded to the United States (in New York, San Francisco, Boston and most recently Miami) and now serves approximately 100,000 women in 39 countries, including Australia, Iceland, Spain, Canada and France. “We are based [the app] about the essence of women and the solidarity of women, ”says Schreiber, who founded SafeUp with the entrepreneur Tal Zohar. “We didn’t invent anything; Women protected one another and always helped one another. We have simply encouraged that in the modern world. “
SafeUp is easy to use. If a woman finds herself in a situation in which she feels uncomfortable – on a nightly walk back to the hotel or home from the office – she can open the app and receive a card with the “legal guardians” (SafeUps title for his 10,000 volunteers) see helpers) nearby who are available for phone or video calls: to be connected, all she has to do is press the call guard button. Guardians can also appear in person as walking buddy or help call the police. (If a traveler is in imminent danger, SafeUp encourages them to call the police first.) For added security, a traveller’s location will only be disclosed to local guardians if they ask for help.
So that legal guardians can reach members quickly, SafeUp has a partnership with lime offer free scooter rides in selected cities. The app also employs a backup team who answer calls around the clock when a local guardian is not available. “I think it is important that travelers know that even if there is no legal guardian within walking distance, there is still someone to answer – we can promise that,” says Schreiber. “You won’t be alone.”
To join the community, a new member enters their phone number, name, gender (options are female and other), and a profile photo, and then the app uses a video and questioning process to verify their identity. Members of the nonbinary and genderqueer community can apply for SafeUp; Men are not, although that could change. According to SafeUp website: “We believe men are an integral part of creating a safer world. In the future, we plan to explore ways in which men can contribute to SafeUp (with the express permission and consent of our users). ”
Google Maps, Apple and Facebook offer location sharing and special security apps such as BSafe and the US State Department Smart Traveler app offer this mechanism plus additional emergency resources. But what sets SafeUp apart is the real-time responses from volunteers.
All legal guardians must complete an education and be over 18 years old. Shai Bachar, 25, is a SafeUp Guardian in New York City. She found out about the app on social media and thought it was a good way to go out and get help – especially since she felt that location sharing alone isn’t always useful. “Sometimes it’s the middle of the night in your home country when you travel,” she says, noting that loved ones may not be up to answer your call.
Bachar has been dealing with inquiries since joining SafeUp a year ago. “I often get calls around 11 p.m. or calls from all over the world when it’s night at my destination,” she says. “It could be a student walking to her dorm, a mother in an empty mall parking lot, a tourist.” Bachar herself has used SafeUp as a traveler and says her job as a guardian is to help where she can. “I feel like I’m helping women with something that I could use myself with,” she says. “The act of helping someone call you sounds small, but sometimes it’s enough to help them feel safe.”
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