Reach an Emergency Contact By Disconnecting Your Headphones

PSFK by Teo Armus

Not Alone allows users to discretely reach out to family members or the police in times of crisis by simply pulling the headphones out of their smartphone.
The app—which was created by five students in Uppsala, Sweden for an entrepreneurship class—is meant to be used in any situation where a user might feel unsafe.


Sara Juto, one of Not Alone’s creators, tells PSFK that she and her collaborators thought of the app after reading in their local newspaper about a rape victim who was trapped in an apartment by her attacker. They wanted to help others in similar situations, she adds:

Going home late at night can be frightening, sometimes even terrifying, a specially when you are a female young adult. We wanted to create a simple solution that could give a sense of safety in these situations.

When headphones are yanked out of the phone, Not Alone connects to a Swedish messaging app that sends a text to a chosen emergency contact. This text contains a link to a map that shows the user’s geographical position at the time the headphones were disconnected.

Juto says that while other security alarms make loud noises that can provoke the attacker or go unheard in quiet areas, Not Alone is more discrete and more effective.

We believe that Not Alone helps people to feel safe. The thought of knowing that you can get help if something was to happen to you is calming.

Not Alone
Woman walking alone via Shutterstock
All other photos via Sara Juto