Callie Stephens loves hiking. She also enjoys concerts and meeting up with friends late at night.
But she sometimes feels unsafe. So, she carries a built-in security blanket - or more accurately, a security button.
“It’s a very discreet button that I can put on my keychain, or I can clip it to my bra strap or clip it to my pocket, and it’s a button I can push if ever I feel unsafe,” Callie says.
She uses a gadget called the Revolar.
When pushed, it texts family or friends to let them know you’re in trouble. It uses GPS to show your location. It’s already come to Callie’s rescue.
“A guy, who was by himself, was following us a little too closely, and it was making us feel a little unsure. I activated a yellow alert and that caused two people to call in the next 30 seconds,” she explains.
Tech guru Jennifer Jolly explains there are numerous high-tech wearable safety gadgets hitting the market.
“Everything from basic alarms to discreet panic buttons that call your friends and family. There’s even one that’s coming out right now that calls emergency responders right away,” Jolly says.
They’re small, and sometimes disguised as jewelry.
While they work for anyone worried about their safety, experts say the target demographic is millennials like Callie.
And if you’re concerned the gadgets can track where you are 24-7, Jolly says that’s not really how these work.
“These gadgets aren’t actually tracking you. They’re helping you connect in your time of need. So, that all works through an app and you decide where and when and how you want to be located,” she says.
For many, you need to have your phone nearby to keep the devices connected. Others are merely loud, good, old-fashioned alarms.
Callie prefers her high-tech option, saying it gives her an extra level of security to go out and do what she loves.
Callie says, “It gives me more confidence to do things that before I felt uneasy about or uncertain about and that’s cool.”
The devices range from $5 to a couple hundred, and some require ongoing subscription fees.
