App Turns Cellphones Into Personal Safety Devices

To help the campus community remain safe, both on and off campus, Carolina is providing an app that turns cellphones into personal safety devices. The Rave Guardian Campus Safety App, a joint initiative between Student Affairs and the Department of Public Safety, is available to students, faculty and staff at no cost.

With the app, people can create an online safety network where they can check in with family, friends and public safety officers. Features allow users to:

• Set a safety timer to notify someone to check in on them when they are alone or in an unfamiliar place. They can activate the timer to alert Public Safety and any other designated friends or family members if the timer isn’t turned off within the set time frame;
• Invite family members, friends or other people to be “Guardians” and communicate with them within the app, much the way people already do with their cellphone contact list;
• Call Public Safety directly for help if they are in trouble and send text tips — including photos — if they see something suspicious; and
• Link directly to a Smart911 safety profile they create; each profile contains information, including but not limited to residence details (both home and campus) and medical conditions. The profiles are displayed to public safety officers or to Smart911-enabled 911 centers nationwide when individuals call 911 from off campus.

Carolina is the first college or university in North Carolina to use Rave Guardian. The app can be downloaded on Apple and Android devices. Once the app is downloaded and people have created their profiles, their cellphones will display “UNC Guardian.”

The University has used other Rave Mobile Safety products for several years. Rave Alert sends text messages and emails through Alert Carolina; Rave Guardian allows people to create an online safety network; and Smart911 allows faculty, staff and students to create their safety profiles.