Safe88
Cross-platform personal safety app
Geolocated SOS, automatic watch mode and alerts to loved ones, on iOS, Android and smartwatches, in 17 languages. Designed, developed and published by Thortank.
Background
A safety alert is only worth something if it always goes out and arrives on time. The real challenge is not the interface, but the moment when the person can no longer unlock their phone, can no longer speak, or has already dropped the device. We needed an app able to trigger a call for help hands-free, with the screen off, in the background, to share a reliable position continuously and to notify the right circle of loved ones, without ever producing a false alert that would wear down trust. And because safety doesn't speak just one language, everything had to exist in 17 languages.
Goals
Design, develop and publish end to end a cross-platform personal safety app (iOS, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS and web), that can be triggered in several ways including hands-free, reliable even with a locked phone, and available in 17 languages.
- An alert that goes out hands-free
- Reliable even with a locked phone
- iOS, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS and web
- Available in 17 languages
What we did
A full product studio: mobile app, native modules, real-time back end and the ecosystem around it.
- React Native / Expo app paired with native Swift and Kotlin modules
- Voice magic word recognized on the device, scream detection, Bluetooth SOS button
- Android service that survives screen lock and restarts at boot
- Real-time geolocated NestJS back end (PostGIS), SOS delivered via direct APNs / FCM push
- Escalation to the trusted circle, encrypted chat and video calls (WebRTC)
- Marketing site in 17 languages, desktop admin application, store listings (ASO)
- Privacy by design: encryption at rest, hosting in Europe, GDPR
See the full details
Full product studio. A React Native / Expo mobile app paired with native Swift and Kotlin modules: on-device voice recognition of the "magic word" (no server), scream detection, an Android foreground service that survives screen lock and restarts at boot, heart rate reading via Apple Health and Health Connect, Bluetooth SOS button. A real-time geolocated NestJS back end (PostGIS), SOS delivery via direct APNs/FCM push, an escalation engine to the trusted circle, encrypted chat and video calls (WebRTC). Around the app: a marketing site in 17 languages, a desktop admin application, optimized store listings (ASO) and two-tier influencer affiliation. Privacy by design: location shared only during a watch session or an SOS, encryption at rest, hosting in Europe, GDPR compliance.
Results
In production on both stores (App Store and Google Play). 6 ways to trigger an SOS (held button, shake, voice magic word, Bluetooth key fob, smartwatch, widget). 5 automatic detections (fall, road accident, immobility, scream, heart rate). 17 languages, from the app to the store listings. iOS, Android, Apple Watch, Wear OS and web. 3 business models: family, business (B2B) and affiliation.
Why it really works
Because we didn't outsource the hard parts. A safety app is won or lost exactly where turnkey solutions stop: embedded audio, sensors, background tasks, smartwatches, real-time back end. Thortank took the product from zero to production, on every platform, with a single requirement: 100%. An alert that goes out one time in two reassures no one.
- No hard part outsourced
- Embedded audio, sensors, background tasks, smartwatches, real-time back end
- The product taken from zero to production, on every platform
- A single requirement: 100%
Let's talk about your ideas
Take 30 minutes. We analyze your situation, no sales pitch, no commitment. If it makes sense, we move forward. If not, you leave with a clearer vision.