Local University's App Puts Help One Touch Away

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Can a smartphone make you safer? Villanova University thinks so, and is empowering students and staff with a free app that puts help one tap away.

The app is called Nova Safe.

"The core functionality is the ability to press a button and be connected with Public Safety," says Dave Tedjeske, director of Public Safety at Villanova.

He says it gives the emergency dispatcher a real-time GPS location of the user and other information they've they chosen to provide when they signed up for the app: photos, medical conditions, emergency contacts.

It also has a feature called Friend Watch.

"They can use their emergency contacts to watch over them, so to speak," Tedjeske says, "so if I'm going to the city and I want my friends to be able to keep an eye on me, it sends the friend watcher a link to see where you actually are at that point."

Nova Safe also shows a crime map of on-campus incidents.

They plan to push this heavily come orientation time in the fall, but Tejdeske says they've already had more than 600 downloads.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.