Enabling safer communities through a mobile app
JOBURG - Ttrumpet, a South African mobile application which allows consumers to make calls at low rates, has added new security features to its functions.
Charles Murray, director of Ttrumpet, said they developed the multipurpose application with different features in order to cater to end-users with different needs.
“We’ve added the safety and security eco-system which currently has two pillars, Tag-Me and Community Channels,” said Murray.
Tag-Me is a real-time feature within the app aimed at families, friends and active sportsmen. The feature enables individuals to mark their journey while travelling, allowing personally-selected people to identify their exact location and whether they have gone off route, as well as allowing the user to alert their ‘followers’ in cases of distress.
The community channel is a dedicated channel for communities to report and record security issues and other community-related information. The feature gives a view of all incidents as well as a map and full user control of notifications. This service is free to all residents’ associations, and safety and community forums.
“In essence, it is like a community chat room, as you’re able to alert people within that specific community through the platform if you’ve noticed any suspicious behaviour and you just want to make people aware,” said Murray. He said the community forums have an administrator and are monitored to prevent the spreading of false information.
Speaking on their primary objective of cost-effective mobile communication, Murray said, “We really wanted to make something that was simple to use. Consumers and businesses deserve an enriched platform that has no boundaries – one that they are able to communicate with loved ones more cost effectively.”
He said the objective of the safety and security element on the app is aimed at making citizens feel safer with the additional capabilities of measuring the impact of crime in the area and to keep South Africa safer through technology. This, however, should not be mistaken for a security app as it is a platform connecting individuals in real-time with their communities, providing information that will enable them to better read different situations, which will impact how they act and react as responsible citizens and, ultimately keep communities safer.
He said they aimed to add 5 000 suburbs to the newly-launched feature within the next 12 months.
“[Currently], the feature consists of 30 suburbs in Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg.”
The app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or iStore. It is free to download.
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