Microsoft India launches a Guardian app for women security on Windows platform

In the past we have seen technology attempt to help women in times of distress, such as underwear that could electrocute a would-be rapist, and devices like watches that will send out distress calls to the police, friends, and family at the touch of a button. However given that most of us have smartphones these days, Microsoft has launched a new application aimed at women's safety in the country. Called the Guardian, the new safety app is available for Windows Phone users.

Guardian enables users to switch on a 'track me' feature in the app that lets friends and family track them in real-time using Microsoft Windows Azure cloud services and Bing Map APIs or application programming interface.

To use the app, users need to add names of select contacts to the settings who can be reached out to in an emergency situation. Users can alert them through the SOS button. Clicking the SOS button will send a distress message to selected contacts, alerting them along with users' location. The SOS button also sends emails to select email ids and posts to private Facebook groups.

The app was developed over six months by a group of enthusiastic Microsoft employees in India, within the Microsoft Garage. Microsoft Garage is a global employee innovation initiative that gives Microsoft employees an outlet to explore ideas in their free time, Microsoft IT India Managing Director Raj Biyani said.

Today, we are making this app available on Windows platform. The market is such that there is a need and opportunity for others to plug-in and we will work with anybody that we can to help deploy this app in the possible manner,’ Biyani added.  

But this is not the first app that has been introduced ever since the tragic Nirbhaya incident occurred. Notion Ink had launched an app called imShakti for Android devices while other similar apps like Fightback, Circle of 6, bSafe, Scream Alarm and others also there. 

To download Microsoft Guardian app on your Windows Phone - Click Here