'Panic' app turns your power button into an alarm: Discreet software lets you call for help by tapping five times
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Political activists living under oppressive regimes, and journalists reporting from the front line, are among those who fear being kidnapped and tortured.
And while little can be done to abolish this threat entirely, a new app has been launched that turns an ordinary smartphone into a discreet panic button.
The Panic Button app is designed to give people defending human rights in dire situations urgent help from their own network if they are attacked or kidnapped.
The Panic Button app is designed to give people defending human rights in dire situations urgent help from their own network if they are attacked or kidnapped. To use the button, which sends a text message asking for assistance, users can press their phone's panic button five times (illustrated)
THE PANIC BUTTON APP
The Panic Button app is available on Android handsets.
It was built by Amnesty International for use by activists and students living under oppressive regimes, as well as journalists and lawyers.
The discreet app looks like a calculator.
A text message requesting help is sent to three chosen contacts by pressing the 'one' key in the app five times - or by pressing the phone's power button five times.
The aim of the Panic Button is to increase protection for activists around the world who face the threat of arrest, attack, kidnap and torture.
Launched by Amnesty International, it is designed for Android smartphones and is available to download from Google's Playstore.
The app transforms a smartphone into a secret alarm that can be activated rapidly in the event of an emergency, alerting fellow activists to the danger their colleague faces so that they can get help faster.
It is cleverly concealed to look like a calculator app and the panic button can be used by pressing the 'one' key five times on the 'calculator's' screen to send a text message to three chosen emergency contacts asking for help.
Alternatively, a user in peril can press the smartphone's power button five times in quick succession to summon help.
'The aim of the Panic Button is to increase protection for activists around the world who face the ever present threat of arrest, attack, kidnap and torture,' said Tanya O'Carroll, technology and human rights officer for Amnesty International.
'The aim of the Panic Button (pictured) is to increase protection for activists around the world who face the ever present threat of arrest, attack, kidnap and torture,' said Tanya O'Carroll, Technology and Human Rights Officer for Amnesty International
'We have long known that the first hours after somebody's arrest are the crucial window of opportunity for a network to make a difference to their colleague's release - whether it be flooding the police station with calls, arranging a protest, or mobilising lawyers and organisations like Amnesty International for a campaign of international pressure.'
'By introducing technology to the fight for human rights, this app updates the power of writing a letter for the 21st century.'
The app has been released in four languages after three months of private testing by hundreds of users from Amnesty International's networks across 17 countries.
During the testing phase, activists and journalists said that the tool can make a positive difference in mitigating the daily risk of their day-to-day work.
Ibrahim Alsafi, a human rights activist in Sudan who has been involved in the testing of the app, said: 'It is really scary to find out that an activist has been detained for months without anyone knowing anything about them or working to get them released.
'We hope Panic Button will ensure future cases of unlawful detention in Sudan do not go undetected, allowing us to mobilise to help more people.
'This is an essential tool for activists, human rights defenders, students and lawyers.
'Everyone who might face danger in their work needs to have Panic Button on his or her phone.'
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