When Stephan Boyer’s girlfriend, who lives in a dodgy neighbourhood in San Francisco, asked him to call her to make sure she got home safely after work one day, he decided to create an innovative way to let people notify loved ones that they're safe when out and about.
The 23-year-old computer science graduate at MIT set about developing Kitestring, a safety alert web-based service in where the user doesn’t have to do anything to raise the alarm when in danger – just in case it isn't possible to reach for the phone.
With Kitestring, you simply notify it that you’re going out for the evening, whether it's on a blind date or a run after dark in a quiet neighbourhood. It will then 'check in' with you and, if you don’t respond in a timely manner, will automatically notify your emergency contact.
What's more, if you let Kitestring know your destination, it’s also able to let your emergency contact know where you were heading. The other great thing about the service is that it doesn’t use GPS, so it’s completely free.
‘I originally designed Kitestring for people like my girlfriend who feel uncomfortable going out at night,’ Boyer told Elle. ‘But I've been pleasantly surprised with great feedback from several other demographics, including mountain hikers, real estate agents, the online dating community and the elderly.’
How sweet is he? We hope his girlfriend knows how lucky she is – and also moved to a safer neighbourhood.
Sign up for Kitestring here.
Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.