Response24 Plus app: an emergency app you’re going to use

At a time when many South Africans face uncertainty about job security and stretched finances, 911 Response24 has launched a lower cost, family-centric, and enhanced version of their award-winning app.

The Response24 Plus app offers great new features, such as live permission-based location sharing, global-first reverse panic alerts, and an innovative geo-fencing functionality.

The mobile emergency response app is also being used as a tool against gender-based violence (GBV), by helping to curb escalating violence against women and children.

According to 911 Response24, the strict national Covid-19 lockdown last year exacerbated the already overwhelming GBV crisis in South Africa because many victims were ‘locked’ inside their homes with their abusers.

The company says the number of incidents of children going missing and of women being attacked or murdered is of national concern.

Marlize Holtzhausen, founder and CEO of the company, says: “Response24 was born out of a traumatic family experience when my pregnant sister and her family were kidnapped and attacked. Helping victims of gender-based violence is something very close to my heart, and was the driving force behind the creation of the Response24 Plus app. We hope to make a lifesaving difference to victims of gender-based violence across South Africa, by giving them a voice when they can’t speak for themselves.

“We also encourage the men of South Africa to take a stand against gender-based violence and support our women by subscribing to the Response24 Plus app for the women in their communities, to assist in curbing this pandemic.”

Last year, Response24, in conjunction with Hive Media, donated three months’ free access to the app and its emergency services to People Opposing Women Abuse’s Johannesburg office. The management team and the people receiving assistance from the shelter all benefited.

Response24 app explained

The app is based on the principle of requesting private armed response and medical emergency services at the touch of a button. Included in the app are added benefits, such as a monthly shared-services subscription for emergency assistance, and reverse panic alerts which enable users to trigger emergency requests on behalf of other people in their designated groups.

In addition to this, an unlimited number of friends and family members can be added to a single account at a lower cost per user and any number of groups and members can be added.

The app can be used daily and the new geo-fencing feature creates an invisible fence or radius around a specific location. This enables users to be notified about loved ones entering and leaving an area.

This is ideal for:

• unaccompanied children at parties or a restaurant,
• schools, and
• the elderly – to know when they leave and return home.

It is similar to a check-in check-out function and gives users and their loved ones ultimate peace of mind.

The live, permission-based location-sharing function also allows the user to track or follow a loved one, for example, on a car journey, when using a ride-hailing service, or during outdoor activities such as running or cycling.

The new app also allows the user to keep an eye on elderly family members and loved ones who live out of town. If they feel threatened or require urgent assistance, they can send an alert to members of a particular group (friends and family alert) simply by pushing a button. The recipients of the alert can then either come to their aid or request emergency assistance on their behalf.

GPS co-ordinates are used to pinpoint the exact location of the group member requiring assistance and everyone in the group is kept up to date on progress. Alert notifications are also sent to all group members, even when the app is closed.

“In these times, the safety and well-being of family and friends is more important than ever, and we want to make sure that everyone stays connected in the easiest possible way. We also understand that finances are stretched and have developed a lower cost, shared-services feature with this in mind. The app works for you wherever you go,” says Holtzhausen.

“The Reponse24 Plus app is available on Apple and Google app stores – the first seven days are free for you to test and experience the app for yourself. You will be amazed at how easy and user friendly it is. It offers you convenience, peace of mind and, best of all, it now includes the whole family.”

As with the Premium 911 Response24 app, all emergency request alerts are routed directly to Response24’s National Operations Centre where trained agents are available 24/7 to immediately assess your requirements and link you straight to the nearest responder.

In South Africa, over 30 000 users have downloaded the app to date.

The access cost per user per month is R10. Multiple members can be added to the main user’s account and in-app purchases to subscribe, as a shared-service, for national armed response and medical emergency services can be managed with one single subscription per group.

All that is required is data and cellphone signal coverage.

The technology used for the Response24 app was developed in South Africa to mitigate the country’s unique environment and help keep all South Africans safe. It can be used from anywhere in the world to create Communities of Safety by extending security services outside the borders of our homes, into our towns and cities, across the entire country.    

NOTE:

* This service is not intended to replace health and other professionals working with family violence, disputes, and/or GBV issues. Should users press the assistance button for the above and related issues, they will be referred to social services, the South African Police Service, or the designated support structure in the area.

Armed response is in general neither trained nor equipped to deal with these issues and thus will not get involved in them, or in civil disputes. Neither 911 Response24 nor its security providers accept any responsibility for any act or omission on their side in this regard.