There’s An App That Allows Your Friends To Virtually Walk You Home At Night

In an idea that seems so obvious in retrospect you can’t help but wonder why the bloody hell you didn’t think of it, an app that lets a friend virtually walk you home at night by tracking your position is currently exploding in popularity.

The app, called Companion, was created by five students from the University of Michigan, and users are able to request a friend, family member or trusted person to keep them company remotely, and track their movements via GPS.
Better yet, the chosen person doesn’t even need to have the app installed – a request comes with a link to a webpage that shows an interactive map, with the user making their way towards their destination.
The app also detects changes in your status, and asks if you’re okay. Per the official description:
If you start running, don’t make it to your destination on time, have your headphones yanked out or your phone falls to the ground, we will check in on you to make sure everything is okay. If you don’t respond in 15 seconds, we will automatically alert your Companions.

Companion was originally designed for use on US college campuses, where it is integrated with security and police, but after it exploded in popularity, a few changes were made to the original, allowing it to be used internationally. 

Co-founder Lexie Earnst told IBTimes UK:
“We’ve had a lot of people outside the US downloading the app. Since we launched, we’ve had dozens of emails from people in the US, as well as many other countries like the UK, Belgium, France, and Norway. Both men and women from all demographics have emailed us saying they’d love to use the app. Lots of parents want to use the app for their children, and some people want their elderly parents to use it, too, to make sure they don’t get lost.”


The app is available for both Andriod and iOS, and you can visit the official site here.

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