Smart Phone Security Apps for Safety-Conscious Parents

Today's smartphones are more than devices you can use to communicate with friends and family, listen to music, and surf the internet. They are essentially mini-computers that are capable of aiding homeowners and parents in securing the safety of not only their homes, but also their children.

Here are just a few of the innovative smartphone apps that homeowners and parents are making use of these days.

Home Security Apps

If you've ever left your house just to realize that you forgot to set your home security system, then you know just how troubling those thoughts can be. This is especially true when you have a child alone at home.

From home security surveillance cameras to alarm systems, many of today's home security systems include apps that allow you to access the system's control base remotely using your mobile phone. In addition to being able to turn on your alarm system when you're away from home, many of these apps give you the ability to adjust camera angles, view video, and even turn lights on and off in and around your residence.

Today's home security mobile phone apps can be very helpful to parents. If you have security cameras or a web cam set up in your home, these apps make it easy to check in on your child at any time. Being able to arm your home security alarm from a remote location can also give you greater peace of mind when you have a children home alone during summer vacation or after school while you're at work.

Family Locator Apps

Many of today's cell phone companies offer family locator services that allow you to see where your child is at any given time on a map. This service can be very convenient when you have a child who walks home from school or who drives and is frequently away from home. The problem is that most cell phone companies charge a monthly fee for the service, which can get expensive over time. Fortunately, there are a variety of inexpensive and even free family locator apps available on the market.

One such family locator app is Moby. This cost-saving app allows you and other family members to share their location through a private map. Parents who want to know where their kids are can use the app to locate them in an instant.

The Moby family locator app can also be used to request help. With just a touch of a button, your child can send you an emergency message that includes a map of their exact location. This can come in very handy when you, your teen, or another family member breaks down on the side of the road or highway.

Moby can be downloaded for free and works with iPhone, Android, and BlackBerry smartphones.

Important Text Message and Phone Call Notification Apps

Ever silenced your phone during a long meeting at work just to find out afterwards that your child had a problem and was trying to get a hold of you? There are several apps on the market specifically made for these situations.

From Text911 for BlackBerry phones to Emergency Alert for Android, these convenient apps ensure you are alerted of important text messages and phone calls, even when your phone is in silent mode. The app allows you to set up alert criteria based on the words contained in the text messages your phone receives or by contact name. When the app detects a text message or phone call that matches your alert criteria, it activates your notification settings to get your attention through audible sounds, vibration, and sometimes even flashing lights.

With an emergency notification app set up on your phone, you can trust that you'll never miss those important text messages and phone calls from your children.

New Emergency Alert Broadcasting App

In the more recent news is a new emergency alert app called Hero. This new smartphone application allows its users to broadcast an emergency message to everyone within their social media network, as well as anyone within a 5-mile radius who has the same app installed on their phone. The app can also be used to transmit video, audio, and your location depending on your settings.

While the Hero app may sound extreme, it can come in very handy in an emergency situation. As reported in a recent ABC 4 News article, hero takes advantage of "crowd sourcing," meaning it draws in the attention of not one person but a crowd of people who are close enough to help during an emergency.

From the moment a child sustains a serious injury to the second a parent notices their child is missing, the Hero app can come in very handy during those critical moments when you or your child need the assistance of anyone who's willing to help.

Protect Your Teenager from Distracted Driving

Nothing causes a parent to worry more than when their teenager climbs behind the driver's wheel of a car—and for good reason. More and more people are having car accidents and even dying these days as a result of drivers being distracted by their cell phones, and many of those victims and drivers include teenagers.

While teaching your teens about the dangers of texting and talking on their cell phone is important, teenagers are known for defying the wisdom of their parents. To help ensure your teen is keeping their eyes on the road when behind the wheel, consider installing one of today's distracted driving apps on their smartphone.

When installed, these potentially lifesaving apps make use of the motion or velocity detector that come equipped in many of today's popular smartphones. When the app detects the car is in motion, it renders the phone unusable, preventing your child from receiving and sending text messages while driving. It also blocks all incoming and outgoing phone calls, with the exception of emergency calls to 911. When the car comes to a complete stop, the phone becomes fully functional again and any calls or text messages that were received while the phone was inactive are displayed.

A common feature among today's distracted driving apps is the ability to set up a password so that your teen cannot disable or remove the app.

Of course, these are just a few of the hundreds of thousands of apps available to safety-conscious parents. You're certain to find more if you take time out of your busy day to explore how today's revolutionary smartphone technology can make ensuring your child's safety and security easier.

Jordan Frankel, commonly known as The Security Sensei develops revolutionary security products and solutions that protect both lives & property. Countless agencies and corporations such as NASDAQ, the US Military, and law enforcement entrust Mr. Frankel with their security and safety. Jordan Frankel is also frequent media guest addressing the personal and financial consequences associated with home invasions, burglaries and other serious threats. In addition, Mr. Frankel's security products & inventions have been featured on Oprah, FOX news and in countless publications. Jordan's ability to outsmart the proverbial bad guys - coupled with his commitment to making security an affordable reality for everyone is the key to Global Security Experts Inc success. Mr. Frankel (The Security Sensei) is available for media interviews by appointment only.

Mr. Frankel is a proud member of:

The American Society for Industrial Security.

The International Association for Counter Terrorism & Security.

The Society of Professional Locksmiths.

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