Truecaller today launched a brand new App for personal safety called Guardians. The app is a labour of love, built over the past 15 months by a dedicated team from Stockholm and India as per the company.
After building an app that safeguards people in their digital lives, the Swedish company is now making a commitment to safety in the real world. Guardians is available as a free download from Google Play Store & Apple App Store. All features are free to use – there are no ads or premium tiers.
Guardians has a simple onboarding process. If you are already a Truecaller user, you can sign in with one tap. If you’re not a Truecaller user, your phone number will be verified using a missed call or OTP. The app needs only three permissions: your location, contacts (so that you can select and invite your personal Guardians) and phone permission (to show your phone status to your Guardians).
You can select your own personal Guardians from your contact list, choose when to stop/start sharing location and setup permanent sharing with selected Guardians. If you are just sharing your location for a particular trip, Guardians works quietly in the background. If you don’t feel safe or are facing an emergency situation, tap the emergency button to notify all your Guardians about your location and situation.
In emergency mode, your Guardians will be notified and will be able to precisely follow your location, reach your location or be able to send help. In normal mode, the app is designed to quietly run in the background and share location intermittently while preserving battery life.
Emergency mode will also share your location with community Guardians who may be in the vicinity. Accepting help from the community is your choice. Soon, you can also get help from local law enforcement through the app – so that you can get help in the shortest span of time.
Truecaller also commits to never share any personal information with any third-party services. “Guardians will never share any personal information with any third party apps for commercial use, including our very own Truecaller app. This is our commitment to personal safety”.