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New "Companion" App Makes Getting Home At Night Safer

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Say you're walking home late at night, maybe in an unsafe area, and you wish you had someone with you to make sure you get home safely.

A couple of college students have developed a new smartphone app made just for situations like that.

For college students, late classes or work can force them to be alone in places they know may not be the safest.

That is part of what prompted University of Michigan senior Lexie Ernst and a few friends to come up with an app called "Companion," which touts a safer way to get home.

Before a user leaves to walk alone, they put in their destination and it marks the route.

"Instantly then they're able to add contacts from their contact book whether that be family, friends, and those contacts they selected are able to see that progress as they make it to their destination whether they have the app or not," says Lexie.

That contact can watch in real-time as their friend walks from point A to point B.

"If the user starts running, if they don't make it to their destination on time, if their headphones get yanked out… their emergency contacts are notified to check in on them," Lexie says.

There's even a "I feel nervous" button and "call police" button users can hit during their walk. Ernst says several safeguards have been put in place to prevent false alarms.

On the Pitt in Oakland, many students say they've heard about the "Companion" app, and they say it's a great idea for safety, specifically for those who walk alone at night.

"Usually, I'll call my friend if I'm walking by myself, and I tell them in case somebody grabs me, you'll hear it so you can call the police," says Shatae DeVaughn, a Pitt sophomore. "So I feel like that app would be good."

"It would seem like a pretty good idea, not just women but everyone to stay safe in the city at night," says Vis Lanka, a Pitt freshman.

The second version of the app just launched a few weeks ago.

For Ernst, the positive response with hundreds of thousands of downloads has been a wonderful result of an effort just to make sure fellow students remain safe.

The "Companion" app is available for Android and iPhones. For more information, visit: http://www.companionapp.io/

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